The Beginning
by icebluehost
Summary: Summary's in the first chapter. Please read! I promise it won't be as bad as you think XD Special note: THE PLOT OF THIS STORY WILL BE UNORIGINAL. THAT IS A FACT THAT YOU'LL HAVE TO PUT UP WITH IF YOU WANT TO READ THROUGH THIS CERTAIN STORY.
1. Chapter 1

**AN**: I do not own Pirates of the Caribbean but I do own the plot and some of the OC characters that will appear in the story. And before you start wondering, this story won't have that much originality, being somewhat of a prologue to the real story I had planned out. Even so, please feel free to R&R! Opinions and suggestions are wholeheartedly welcome.

**Summary**: The first of the adventures of Vanessa Silvestre aka Marine, The Beginning deals with...well the beginning. Vanessa finds herself wrapped in one of the most popular movies in the modern times a bit more personally than she would have wanted. She falls into an alternative universe, where anything from our world can be changed with one word, one action or more specifically...one character. Join our main character as she faces the first of her incredible adventures together with the sexy, dangerous and seductive pirate, Captain Jack Sparrow.

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**Chapter 1  
**

The security guard sighed wearily as he stood beside the doors. It was 12 o' clock midnight and instead of being safe and warm at home he had to stand guard while the customers were still inside the movie house. It was during times like those that he hated his job. But it was part of the contract he had signed with the owner and he had to go through with it. At that moment the doors to the movie house opened and the large crowd poured out through the exit. Among the people who came out were two young women. The first one to walk out of the theater was a woman named Vanessa Silvestre. She had short, spiky yet beautiful black hair and mysterious looking ocean blue eyes. The other was a younger, perkier girl named Carrie Lockheart who had long, blond, one braided hair and emerald green eyes. The movie they just came out was from a movie called "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest". Carrie was currently wailing exaggeratedly like a child.

"Whyyy?? Whyyy did he have to die like that? JAAAAACKKK!! You can't die!! You're the main character!! CAPTAIN JACK SPARROWWWWWWW!!!" She cried as she held on to Vanessa's arm and shook it wildly. The older woman Vanessa sighed and rolled her eyes at the younger woman.

"For pete's sake Carrie, he's not dead. The director couldn't be more obvious than that."

"But...but...he got eaten by the kraken. How can he survive something like that?"

"Probably decided to live inside its stomach like Pinnochio did with Monstro the giant whale. Either that or he's really dead and the other characters are just doing all this for nothing. Now quit being irritating and let's go home. It's really late and I still have to go to work tomorrow." Vanessa said as she jerked her hand away from Carrie's hold and began to walk briskly towards the elevator.

"You're so mean!!!" Carrie shouted at her with a small pout on her face before rushing after her best friend. The two girls have been close ever since Vanessa's foster parents welcomed Carrie's parents into their little neighborhood. Even if they were 4 years apart, they still got along very well. The two women shared much in common from what they like to what they actually do. The movie they watched was only one of the many things they both liked. Carrie was going to stay at Vanessa's apartment for the night since it would be safer for her to go home at a more proper time. Vanessa, at the age of 27, was a very responsible and very well-to-do adult. Not to mention the fact that her job as a comic artist was a big success. Carrie was about to graduate from college in her age of 23 and was very excited about it.

"I give the movie a score of 100 from a scale of 1 to 10!" Carrie said cheerfully as Vanessa opened the door to her mercedes car and went in the diver's seat. Vanessa raised an eyebrow in amusement and watched Carrie go into the passenger's seat.

"That's a very high score you're giving the movie. Probably one of your highest; higher than Lord of the Rings even. Whatever happened to Legolas and Aragorn huh?" She asked. Carrie smiled at her.

"Well I prefer this movie now. And besides, Orlando Bloom in Pirates doesn't really attract my attention. It's Johnny Deep who really makes me drool." And as she said this Carrie began to stare at the top of the car dreamily. Vanessa shook her head in disbelief and concentrated on the road as they came out of the parking lot and headed for home.

"I love all of Jack Sparrow's amusing lines!" Carrie continued as they reached Vanessa's apartment and were going up the elevator to Vanessa's floor. "He looks so cool and hot as he says them; 'I love those moments. I love to wave at them as they pass by' or that other line he says 'Remember this as the day you almost caught Captain Jack Sparrow!'"

"And yet he got caught as I recalled." Vanessa ended, hopping off the elevator once its doors opened to her. Carrie pursed her lips and ran after her friend to the door with Vanessa's room number on it.

"Hey Vanessa, can I take a look at the aztec gold imitation you have?" Carrie asked pleadingly, putting her hands together in a begging position. "Pleeease! I promise I won't lose them or destroy them." She added. Vanessa chuckled and unlocked her door with the key. Then she stepped back and gestured for Carrie to enter first.

"Alright you can take a look at it. Just as long as nothing happens to it. It's a very valuable gift to me from my parents you know. Do make yourself at home while I go to the showers and take a nice, long bath." She said as Carrie eagerly entered the apartment and went to her best friend's room. The aztec gold coin that Vanessa had was an exact imitation of the aztec gold in the Pirates of the Caribbean. Her foster parents had given it to her when they were on a trip to the Caribbean Islands. Of course the gold wasn't cursed. If it was then Vanessa's foster parents would be living, walking skeletons under the moonlight.

"This really is amazing." Carrie said as she took out Vanessa's small antique chest made of rosewood and looked at the small, round aztec gold coin that glittered under the artificial lights. "You think it's the same one that Barbossa was looking for in the first movie?" Vanessa gave out a loud laugh as she entered the same room and began to take out a towel and some clean clothes.

"If it was then I would have been kidnapped by the cursed pirates and be brought to Isla de Muerta then wouldn't I?" She asked Carrie as she walked into her bathroom. "And along the way I would meet all the characters of Pirates of the Caribbean. And I mean everyone..." She added, looking teasingly at Carrie.

"If you do meet Jack Sparrow tell him that he's an awesome character!" Carrie cried from the bedroom. Vanessa sighed and chuckled to herself. Then finally ignoring the younger woman, she filled her bathtub, poured a small amount of bath bubbles, removed her clothes, simply dropping them to the floor, then went into the tub and heaved a sigh of relief. The warm water was relaxing for her thin yet muscled body. It was thanks to her gym and her love for all kinds of physical activity that she had a fit and strong body. With Vanessa's face and her attractive form, almost every single man on earth would turn their heads at her. She was indeed an attractive woman with an equally attractive, fiery spirit.

Vanessa closed her eyes and gave in to the warmth and the soothing water as it relaxed her whole body. She then began to recall to her mind the dreams she kept having since last month. Amusingly it was about her own self, as a Pirate in the movie. She had gone through a lot of adventures, escaped from the hands of a different Commodore at least a thousand times and plighted a lot of rare and priceless treasures. She was known in the world of pirates by only one name. And that was Marine. In her dream, she never actually saw Jack Sparrow or any of the characters that were supposed to be there in the movie. Perhaps, she mused to herself, it was some sort of preparation for her before she does get to meet them one day in her dreams.

All of a sudden, a huge weight came down upon her. Vanessa was taken aback and was forced to go down into the water by an invisible force. She tried to go back up to the surface but something was holding her down and pulling her even further into the water if that was possible. Vanessa opened her mouth to scream but began to choke as water came rushing through her lungs. She struggled with the invisible enemy, her mind racing quickly with panic. She had no idea what to do. Carrie wouldn't hear her inside the bathroom and there was no telling when she'd begin to worry about Vanessa. A few seconds later Vanessa lost all her strength and lost consciousness, the last thing she remembered was the sound of the sea crashing onto shore.

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"Hey...wake up. Come on love, get up already." A voice reached Vanessa's ears from a distance and slowly brought her back to reality. She tried to move or to speak but found that her body wasn't following her orders. But she could feel and hear, strangely she couldn't see a thing. The smell of rum and the sea was strong as she felt soft but rough lips gently press on hers and give her air. A few seconds later the feeling was gone and hands were pushing on her ribs, trying to push out any remaining water that was inside of her. Vanessa could feel the cold water coming out through her throat and she coughed out what remaining water she had inside of her before sharply sitting up from the ground. Her eyes were slowly regaining their sight to her relief. She saw white at first, then slowly dark shadows appeared and when color came into her eyes, Vanessa found herself facing none other than the legendary pirate, Captain Jack Sparrow of the Black Pearl. 

"Are you alright love? That was some fall back there. What on earth were you thinking, jumping off cliffs like that?" He asked her. Vanessa stared at the man she knew was supposed to be non-existent. Was she dreaming? She remembered being in the bathroom of her apartments, then being sucked down by some strange, invisible entity to who knows what. She looked at the man before her suspiciously. There have been shows on TV made to make "victims" look like a fool in front of millions of people; this could be one of them. She looked around, hoping to find some hidden camera or some other sign that this was all just a fake, but as she went on looking, hopes that she was not in some strange, other world, diminished. She felt the man who was supposedly Jack Sparrow brush away a strand of hair that was plastered on her cheek to tuck it behind her ear and and felt his warm and intoxicating breath on her face as he stared at her closely.

"Aye, I'm fine. Just a bit shaken that's all..." She heard herself say in a very pirate-ish, British accent, the same one she had as Marine in her dreams. She looked down at herself and found that she was wearing a light brown vest over a white, long sleeved shirt with a bandage wrapped around her whole body and a blue bandanna wrapped around her neck. Faded blue pants were tucked into shiny black boots with a black belt to keep her breeches from falling. She also had her very own trademark accessory which were three pairs of ear clips on her left ear. Two were clipped at the top half of her ear while the third one was clipped at the bottom. After further investigation she found a large number of daggers which she loved to throw at her enemies hidden all over her body, a nice revolver with a holster hanging casually on her left hip, and a small sword sheathed in a scabbard hidden beneath the long sleeve of the right side of her shirt. Then to her surprise, she knew why she had jumped from the cliff he was talking about. She was a pirate after all, and the newly raised Commodore, James Norrington happened to be walking towards her direction together with a Miss Elizabeth Swann. Vanessa looked around her and found herself on Jack's own ship. Not the Black Pearl of course, but a ship in his command nonetheless.

"What the hell is going on here...?" She asked to herself. "I can't be here...this place shouldn't exist...don't tell me I'm dreaming again." She groaned out loudly than she should have. Her mind forcibly reeled for a logical explanation and came up with nothing. It seems that she was in the first movie's timezone, around the part of the movie where Jack makes his first appearance. But even if it seemed outrageous for her to be in the Pirates of the Caribbean, she knew this was real. She felt it within her own self, as the dreams she had came back to refresh her memory of her time in the Caribbean. Unfortunately for her Jack heard her speak the last line and raised an eyebrow at her.

"I can't say for sure if you're really dreaming love, but if you are then it must be a good dream since you're speaking to me in person." He pondered aloud. Vanessa glared at him and smacked him on the head. She might as well play along for as much as she can. Perhaps later in the middle of it all she'll suddenly wake up in her own room, living like a normal human being should.

"Arrogant bastard...Waitaminute...if this is what I think it is, then this ship's going to..." At that very moment, they watched the water quickly rush into the boat with speed. Vanessa automatically stood up to avoid becoming completely wet and widened her eyes. She looked at Jack who was staring at the hole in the boat as if staring at a painting on the wall. "Don't you have a lifeboat in this ship?" She asked him. Jack turned around and shrugged.

"It seems there are no lifeboats on board love. You see, this isn't me own lovely ship. I just "commandeered" her very recently and I didn't have the time to resupply at the last port I came upon." He replied calmly. Vanessa narrowed her eyes at him. For a very handsome man, he was definitely living up to his character in the movie. Arrogant, annoying, and idiotic.

"What do you expect us to do then? Swim for shore?" She didn't have to ask further because a few minutes later, as they passed by three pirate skeletons hanging with a sign "pirates ye be warned" which Jack payed homage to, the boat slowly sunk lower until it reached the docks at a stride's length. Jack casually jumped onto the port and Vanessa had no choice but to follow the pirate or else she would have to swim together with the fishes. The harbormaster caught sight of Jack and Vanessa as they approached the town and ran up to them as fast as he could.

"What - hey. Hold up, there, you." He cried. Both Jack and Vanessa stopped walking and turned around to see the harbormaster catch up to them. "It's a shilling to tie up your boat at the dock." He said, as he looked at the boat that had sunken into the water by then and shook his head in disbelief. "And I shall need to know your names." He added, looking at both pirates expectantly. Jack smiled sweetly at the harbormaster and discreetly placed a couple of gold coins into his hand.

"What d'ye say to three shillings... and we forget the name?" He suggested. The harbormaster widened his eyes and slowly placed the money into his pocket, all the while nodding to the two in casual greeting.

"Welcome to Port Royal, Mr. Smith. And lovely to meet your acquaintance Mrs. Smith." He said to them both. Vanessa widened her eyes and grabbed Jack's arm before he could move to pull him back towards her forcefully.

"Tell that man that I'm not your wife or you'll be eating dirt on the ground for the rest of your miserable life!" She hissed threateningly at his ear. Jack wrapped his arm tightly around Vanessa to her surprise and smiled at the harbormaster before leaning close to her and whispering back in her ear.

"You don't have a choice in the matter love. I saved your life after all an' that means you owe me something. So if you don't want me to hand you over to the commodore, pirate, I suggest you do as I say, savvy?" He whispered. Vanessa widened her eyes and tried to open her mouth to make a comeback when Jack stepped on her toe with his heel and covered her mouth so she couldn't scream.

"Now if you'll kindly excuse us mate, me wife and I shall go into town. As you can see, me wife is very excited in taking a stroll around Port Royale." Without another word, he dragged Vanessa away and towards a certain ship among the docks Vanessa knew and remembered as the Dauntless, one of the navy ships in Port Royal. But before that, Jack noticed the harbormaster's money pouch hanging idly at his side and easily snatched it from the harbormaster without him knowing. Vanessa watched as Jack discreetly but quickly hid it inside his pocket with a mischievous and naughty smile on his face. When they were far from the harbormaster's sight Vanessa pushed Jack away from her and punched him in the gut, making the pirate double over and groan painfully.

"What on earth was that for?" Jack asked, as he struggled to keep himself from falling to the ground. Vanessa glared at him in return.

"First of all, for threatening me with silly and empty threats. I can just as easily send you to the Commodore if you do the same to me you know. Second, you stepped on me own damn toe then dragged me away like some kind of rag doll! You should consider yourself lucky to be alive after doing that to me. How do you even know that I'm a pirate?" She asked him, crossing her arms angrily.

"I'm always lucky to be alive. That's just the way I am love." Jack answered. "And I caught sight of the pirate's trademark on your arm. I didn't see a name though...might I ask for it then? A lovely woman such as yourself must have an equally lovely name." He added. Vanessa rolled her eyes and began to walk away from him.

"Whoa love, hold on for a moment and just listen to me." Jack said as he chased after Vanessa before she could disappear from his sight. He ran in front of Vanessa and held up a hand to her face. "I have a very temptin' proposition to make with you. It concerns a ship, and a very valuable treaure that's ripe for the taking." He added, grinning madly at her. The idea did sound very appealing but the man who said it completely turned her off. Especially since she knew what treasure he was talking about. Vanessa ignored his proposition and pointed a finger at the Dauntless.

"Aren'tcha going to check out that ship? Go on then, I don't want to have any sort of business with the likes of you." She said before disappearing among the large crowd. When she was sure Jack wasn't following her, she went back to the docks and watched the scene play exactly as it did at the movie. Jack spoke with two of the guards, obviously mentioning his "true" purpose and making complete fools out of the two. Then she watched Jack give his items to the guards and jump into the water after sighting Elizabeth fall from the same spot she did a while ago.

Other guards were going her way, together with the Commodore and the Governor, Elizabeth's father. Vanessa moved aside and avoided their gazes as they passed by her in a rush. Knowing what would happen next, Vanessa decided to help out Jack, as much as it annoyed her to, and began jogging towards one of the other ships beside the Dauntless, which happened to be the Interceptor. She made it there just in time and watched from a safe distance the conversation between the pirate and the commodore at the docks.

"I believe thanks are in order." Norrington had said as he offered his hand to shake. Jack took it and widened his eyes with shock when the commodore suddenly pulled it forcefully towards him and pushed up the sleeve of his shirt. He saw a tatoo of the mark of the East India Trading Company and narrowed his eyes at Jack. "Had a brush with the East India Trading company, did we, pirate?" Jack grimaced in reply.

"Hang him." Govenor Swann demanded as he pulled Elizabeth protectively in his arms. Norrington turned to face the guards who were there with him.

"Keep your guns on him, men. Gillette, fetch some irons." While the young soldier went off, Norrington pushed Jack's sleeve up even further and saw a tattoo of a sparrow in flight. He looked back at Jack and smirked. "Well, well... Jack Sparrow, isn't it?"

"Captain Jack Sparrow, if you please, sir." Jack replied. Norrington feigned surprise and looked around the docks pretending to look for a specific ship. As he did he thought he caught sight of a feminine figure standing on one of the crates on the Interceptor. But he blinked once and it was gone as if it was never there. Not paying any attention to it, he turned back to Jack.

"Well, I don't see your ship...Captain."

"I'm in the market as it were." Jack said. Then the two guards he had conversed with earlier walked up to Norrington eagerly.

"He said he'd come to commandeer one." One said.

"Told ya he was telling the truth. These are his, sir." The other added as he handed Norrington all of Jack's possessions, even his beloved tricorne hat. Jack frowned and stared annoyingly at all the guards who were pointing their rifles at him. Norrington took the gun first and inspected it.

"No additional shots nor powder..." He picked up next Jack's compass. "A compass that doesn't point north..." He placed it back into the guards' hands then unsheathed the last item which was a sword. "And I half expected it to be made of wood. You are without doubt the worst pirate I've ever heard of." He announced. Jack smirked despite that.

"But you have heard of me." Vanessa chuckled silently to herself. She remembered it to be one of her favorite lines in the first movie, together with the rest of Jack Sparrow's lines to be honest. Before Jack could go on talking, Gillette, the guard Norrington ordered to bring the chains, came back and began to pull Jack to him to clasp them into his wrists.

"Commodore, I really must protest." Elizabeth said as she looked at Norrington angrily.

"Carefully, Lieutenant." Norrington said as he ignored Elizabeth's plea. While the commodore watched Gillette chain Jack, Elizabeth escaped her father's hold to step foward and block Norrington's view of the pirate.

"Pirate or not this man saved my life." She insisted.

"One good deed is not enough to redeem a man of a lifetime of wickedness."

"Though it seems enough to condemn him." Jack muttered disappointingly as he helplessly watched himself being chained up. Norrington looked at him and nodded in reply.

"Indeed." Once Gillette was done chaining Jack he moved away from him to let the commodore see him fully. Jack gave a sigh of relief as the guard finished.

"Finally." Before anyone could realize what was happening, Jack suddenly threw his irons around Elizabeth 's neck and made her act as his own personal shield. Jack grinned mischievously at Norrington and challenged him to give the order to shoot. All the guards quickly aimed their guns at the pirate without the commodore's order but didn't shoot, afraid that Elizabeth might get hurt in the process.

"No, don't shoot!" Governor Swann cried in a panic and tried to push away the guns that were all aimed at Jack.

"I knew you'd warm up to me." Jack whispered teasingly into Elizabeth's ear. He looked up at Norrington and gestured with his head to his items that the guards were holding. "Commodore Norrington, my effects, please, and my hat." When Norrington didn't move, he tightened the chain around Elizabeth's neck threateningly, causing her to give a short gasp. "Commodore!" Norrington waved his hand in defeat and a guard slowly walked up to them.

"Elizabeth. It is Elizabeth isn't it?" Jack asked the young lady.

"It's Miss Swann." She replied with contempt.

"Miss Swann, if you'd be so kind. Come, come, dear. We don't have all day." Elizabeth stared at Jack's effects for a short while before getting them and turning around to face Jack. "Now if you'd be very kind." She begins strapping on his sword and other effects and placed the hat on top of Jack's head a bit too hard last. "Easy on the goods, darling." Jack told her with a grin.

"You're despicable." Elizabeth hissed angrily as she drew her face inches away from Jack's and narrowed her eyes at him as low as she could.

"Sticks and stones, love. I saved your life, you save mine, we're square." He whispered back to her. Then without another word, he turned Elizabeth around to face the crowd once more. "Gentlemen, m'lady, you will always remember this as the day that you almost caught Captain Jack Sparrow!" He then lifted his chains from her and pushed her to the crowd to give him some time to run. At that same moment Vanessa took a rope from the part of the Interceptor and swung her way to Jack, grabbing his arm and dragging him in midair before falling to the ground further away. Vanessa continued to hold onto Jack's arm and began dragging him all over the town, away from the guards. Then before she could turn a corner, Jack pulled her into the dark shadows behind a statue. His pull was so strong and so sudden that Vanessa practically fell onto Jack as they stood there, bodies as close as they could get them to be. At this thought Vanessa blushed. She could feel Jack's muscles ripple and his chest go up and down quickly together with hers as they both tried to catch their breaths. Her heart pounded furiously as she felt Jack's breath tickle her face.

When the guards were gone, she immediately came out and tried to recompose herself while Jack wasn't looking. She wanted to shout at him angrily for pulling her in surprise and at the same time she squirmed uncomfortably at how close they were a while ago and how everything inside her just suddenly erupted into chaos. How the pirate managed to evoke such a mixture of emotions inside her was a mystery. She turned to him with a straight, expressionless face and spoke as calmly as she could, ignoring the loud pounding inside her chest.

"Don't get any weird thoughts about what I did back there. I saved your arse because you saved me from drowning. Now that we're even, I'm going to stay as far away from you as I can. Good day Jack Sparrow." She announced to him and began to walk away. But before she could move a step she felt Jack's strong grip on her wrist.

"Why are you in such a hurry to leave me, love? We've only met each other for a few minutes. Not to mention the fact that since you helped me escape from the Commodore, you're going to be arrested as well. So really, there's no use trying to run away from me now. Perhaps the two of us can escape this little obstacle if we work together as a team." He told her. "Once we do we can discuss that proposition I have for you savvy? And by the way, it's Captain.Jack Sparrow." He added. Vanessa snorted and muttered "Yeah right" as she allowed herself to be dragged around by Jack. No, it didn't make sense accompanying him when she knew he was going to prison that day and yet, she also knew that Jack was going to be freed by Will so there were no worries really.

They walked past the houses and entered one with a blacksmith's sign hanging above the door as guards headed for their direction. Vanessa entered together with Jack and looked around. The place had the exact same design that the movie portrayed to the viewers and she knew exactly where Mr. Brown was. It was where Jack was at the moment, looking at a familiar old man who was sleeping soundly. Jack neared him and tried to poke him to see if he would wake up. Vanessa sighed and began walking around the room, speaking before Jack could open his mouth.

"No worries Sparrow. That old man's not going to wake up even if you screamed like bloody hell." She told him.

"It's Captain. Captain Jack Sparrow." Jack reminded her. She ignored him and examined a sword that she knew the apprentice Will Turner made. Her experience as a pirate in her dreams combined with her own experience as an expert fencer, martial artist and sharpshooter, gave her a lot of knowledge in the line of weapons. She knew based on the movie that Will was an impressive blacksmith but she never thought that the swords he made would be this good. She whistled and tried to used one of his swords with casual ease. Jack watched her fight with an invisible enemy and was impressed by her skill.

"For a woman, your swordsmanship is quite impressive love. Where did you learn how to do that?" Jack complimented. Vanessa stopped and turned her gaze to Jack who was standing there with the shackles still attached to his wrists. She sighed and decided to speed things up by sending him to the weird machine Will had made and placed the chains between gears. She then took a rod from the fire and pressed the red hot end of the metal rod onto the donkey's butt, making the machine move and the shackles break apart. Before Jack could open his mouth to speak, the door began to open. Vanessa quickly hid beneath some chests while Jack hid elsewhere.

That was when Vanessa saw the one and only Will Turner arrive into the house. She was amazed at the similarities of the Will Turner acted by Orlando Bloom in the movie and the Will Turner before her. The blacksmith stopped the donkey from moving and petted it gently before looking at Mr. Brown who was still fast asleep. "Right where I left you." He said with a small smile on his face. He moved further inside the shop and raised an eyebrow when he saw the hammer Jack had taken to break the chains earlier.

"Not where I left you." He murmured curiously. He caught sight of Jack's hat on the table and was about to get it to inspect it closer when a sword came out of nowhere and patted Will's hand casually. Will abruptly took a step back and turned to face Jack who had taken his hat and aimed the sword near the blacksmith's chest. "You're the one they're hunting. The pirate." Will said. Jack stared at him for a few minutes, his face was clearly trying to see where he saw Will's face last.

"You seem somewhat familiar. Have I threatened you before?" He asked him.

"I make a point of avoiding familiarity with pirates." Will told him. Jack sheathed his sword and shrugged.

"Ah, well, then it would be a shame to put a black mark on your record. So, if you'll excuse me..." He turned away from Will and was about to leave when Will took his own sword from one of the piles and aimed it at Jack. The pirate stayed where he was and looked amusingly at Will. "Do you think this wise, boy - crossing blades with a pirate?"

"You threatened Miss Swann." Will said.

"Only a little." Jack took out his own sword out from its sheath once more and they begin to parry with their swords. Vanessa watched in amusement as metal clashed with metal continuously. "You know what you're doing. I'll give you that. Excellent form. But how's your footwork? If I step here..." Jack stepped to one side and Will quickly followed him. "Very good. Now I step again. Ta." Once Will had moved to the other side Jack quickly sheathed back his sword and began running towards the door, giving Will no time to recover from the switch before.

At the same time, Vanessa had decided that it was time to leave before she got caught together with Jack. She began to run for the door before Jack did and was glad to be closer to the exit. But before she could open the door Will had thrown his sword, striking it exactly at the spot where the door would open. Vanessa blinked in shock as the sword wobbled right in front of her from the force of the throw. She held the sword to keep it from moving further and turned to face Will. Jack had caught up with her then and was trying to pull out the sword in vain. While Jack attempted to remove the sword, Will stared at Vanessa in disbelief.

"There are two pirates?" He asked to himself. Vanessa smirked as she crossed her arms at Will.

"What's the matter lad? Have you never seen two pirates at once before?" She asked him. Will glared at her, took another sword from the pile and charged towards her. But Vanessa was quick and managed to take out her own short sword which was hidden beneath the long sleeve of her shirt to block Will's attack. Vanessa lessened the distance between them and smirked even bigger.

"Or perhaps you've never seen a female pirate up close..." Will stepped back with his sword up while Vanessa casually stood there, looking at him cooly. In his blind anger, the blacksmith lunged at her and tried to put even a little scratch on her. Vanessa gracefully evaded every single slash and thrust Will made and finally got tired of it when Will paused to catch his breath. She inspected the other swords hanging by the wall for a few seconds before looking back at him.

"I must compliment you on your swords W-mate." Vanessa said, scolding herself for almost saying his name. "They are most impressive. I would ask you to make my daggers for me if we were facing each other in a different situation." She added.

"Pretty words for a pirate. But I would never make swords or daggers to help a pirate with his evil deeds." Will replied angrily and began to attack her again. Vanessa still fought on the defensive and was slowly walking all around the room for space. She didn't want to hurt Will, not when she knew he was a good man and didn't deserve to die by the hands of a pirate. Will on the other hand was beginning to become irritated at the fact that he couldn't strike a wound at a woman. Vanessa had walked all around the room while trying to defend against Will and found herself back where they started. At this point Vanessa was becoming tired of evading and suddenly swung her sword to the side, knocking out Will's sword from his hand to the blacksmith's surprise. Will stood there baffled as the sword struck itself to the ground and looked at Vanessa who had her sword aimed at him. Before Vanessa could do anything else, a hand held her shoulder firmly and suddenly pushed her to the side. Vanessa landed on her butt on the ground and glared at Jack who was facing Will this time with his sword out.

"That was a wonderful trick you did back there mate... except, once again you are between me and my way out. And now you have no weapon." Instead of giving up Will took a sword from the fresh batch he had made. The sword still had a red hot tip, making both Vanessa and Jack wince in pain. The two men began to fight again, red sparks flying all around as the swords made contact with each other. While they were fighting, Jack gestured curiously to the rest of the swords on the wall.

"Who makes all these?" He asked. Apparently he didn't listen to the lovely conversation Vanessa and Will had during their own little duel.

"I do! And I practice with them... three hours a day!" Will replied as they continued fighting.

"You need to find yourself a girl, mate! Or perhaps the reason you practice three hours a day is that you already found one and are otherwise incapable of wooing said strumpet. You're not a eunuch, are you?" As Jack asked this he looked down at Will. The blacksmith glared at him and began to charge at him again.

"I practice three hours a day so that when I meet a pirate, I can kill it!" They continued to fight until they stepped onto a cart that kept swaying as they moved. Will took a knife, hooked it into the irons hanging from Jack's left wrist and threw it up at the ceiling so that it was embedded in the beam above. As a comeback Jack stepped hard on a loose board which made Will fly off the cart and onto the rafters above. Jack used his body weight to get the knife out of the wood and fell back on the cart just as Will climbed back on. This caused Will to go up into the rafters again. But Will cut free a heavy sack which fell on the cart and catapulted Jack up into the rafters as well. Vanessa looked up and saw them fight, jumping from beam to beam like they were merely playing. Jack fell back to the ground followed after by Will.

"I'm getting out of here..." Vanessa muttered to herself. She turned her direction to the door which still had a sword stuck to it. She grumbled angrily and began walking around the place for another exit. While she was doing this Jack lost his weapon from Will and decided to blind Will by throwing sand at him. While Will was busy coughing and brushing off sand from himself, Jack took out his pistol and aimed it at Will.

"You cheated!" Will cried angrily.

"Pirate!" Jack replied. Vanessa was attempting to pull the sword again when the door suddenly banged loudly. The three people in the room could hear the guards trying to break down the door to open it. Vanessa cursed and quickly backed away from the door before she got blown together with the door. Jack turned his gaze back to Will and narrowed his eyes at him. "Move away."

"No."

"Please move."

"No! I cannot just step aside and let you escape." Will shouted stubbornly.

"This shot is not meant for you." Jack warned him threateningly. Before anything else could happen Jack suddenly got hit on the head with a bottle of alcohol and fell unconscious to the ground. Vanesa blinked as she saw Mr. Brown standing there with a cracked bottle in hand. Even though she knew it would occur, the man's sudden appearance was still surprising. At that same moment the door finally tore open and let the guards swarm into the room like bees.

"There he is. Over here." One of the soldiers cried. Norrington walked in as well and surveyed the whole place. He saw Will covered in sand, Vanessa standing by Jack Sparrow who was unconscious on the ground. Lastly he saw Mr. Brown with the bottle and walked over to him.

"Excellent work, Mr. Brown. You've assisted in the capture of a dangerous fugitive." He told him.

"Just doing my civic duty, sir." The master blacksmith replied proudly. Vanessa gave a soft snort and rolled her eyes in disbelief.

"He hardly did anything and simply hit Sparrow with the bottle when he was off-guard. I'd say he's a lazy bum for taking all the credit when Will did all the work." She muttered angrily to herself. James Norrington heard Vanessa snort and walked up to her, examining her slowly.

"Ah and you must be the one who saved Jack Sparrow earlier. What is your name pirate?" Vanessa glared at him.

"What makes you think I'm going to reply to that Commodore? What if I don't feel like telling you? What are you going to do to me then?" She asked as her lips curved into a mischievous smirk. Norrington stared at Vanessa and held up her chin to look at her more closely. He squinted his eyes and pulled up the sleeve of her shirt to reveal a tattoo on her arm. It was of a gun and a ship on water, a famous tattoo of a very famous pirate. He was taken aback and dropped his hold on her shirt.

"Sharpshooter Marine...the pirate's name has become known over the past few years. They say he was a wandering pirate who had no crew to become loyal to and continuously moved from one ship to another. I also heard that he has been part of thousands of attacks on merchant ships in just one month. What he was most famous for was his precise accuracy and precision, thus earning the nickname Sharpshooter. But I never expected him to be in fact, a she."

"Expect nothing less Commodore." Vanessa, now called Marine, told him. "Even though I am a lass, those stories you heard were no exaggeration. I am known for my sharpshooting skills. I have gone through many ships, captains and crewmembers. And I have looted enough treasure to last me a lifetime." Norrington glared at her and ordered his men to send her to prison. Then he looked down on Jack and gave a small smile.

"Well, I trust you will always remember this as the day that Captain Jack Sparrow almost escaped. Take him away together with the other."


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: **It's really touching to find at least one person who takes her time to review my work. I know it's still just a start and that it's still boring, but if you continue reading I guarantee that you'll at least get some feeling of boredom out of your hands. Thanks anyway to ILoveAnime for her encouraging words. I will update as much as I can I promise.

Oh before I forget, if you don't want to read POTC but find other stories interesting, check out my profile to see what stories you might like to read. I'll try to keep everything in my account as updated as possible. Now that I've got that out of me, on with the next chapter!

* * *

**Chapter 2**

Night arrived slowly for Marine as she sat in a prison cell together with Jack Sparrow. She was sitting against the cold bars at the farthest corner from Jack, who was lying on the wall on the opposite corner. It had been hours since they were first sent to the dungeons by Norrington's men. Since Jack was fast asleep, Marine spent her time playing with the three earclips she had. The earclips had been a present from the very first captain she was under. It was one of the many other scenes she had dreamed and recalled over the months in her own world. Back then she shrugged it off, thinking that it was just the result of her obsession of the movie. Now, in a sense, she understood why she still remembered them.

The prisoners in the other cell began making noises as they whistled and waved a bone to a dog who had the prison keys in its jaws. Marine looked up, distracted from her thoughts and raised an eyebrow at them. She still wondered how on earth the dog got the keys in its mouth as she clipped her earclips on her ear once more.

"Come here, boy. Want a nice juicy bone? Come here. Come on." The prisoners murmured. Having enough with the noise, Marine attempted to throw a dagger at one of them just to shut them up. Her hand stopped when she realized that she wasn't supposed to have any weapons with her in the cells. If anyone found out that aside from her short sword and her revolver, she had daggers all over her then they would forcibly take every single weapon they could find on her. She was not going to give the guards the satisfaction of touching her body or seeing her naked. She'd rather hang herself than let that happen.

"You can keep doing that forever, the dog is never going to move." Jack told them, his eyes still half-closed. Marine sharply turned her head around to face him. She had forgotten that Jack would be awake to say those lines. She wondered if he had been awake the whole time they were inside the cell. The prisoners looked at the pirate with contempt.

"Oh, excuse us if we haven't resigned ourselves to the gallows just yet." One of them replied. Marine sighed and shook her head in disbelief. Fortunately for them they were going to get out of the cell soon. Maybe she could get them to open the cell for Jack and herself. But it was highly unlikely. She heaved out another tired sigh and tried to soothe her headache by massaging her forehead. Jack somehow heard Marine and looked up to gaze at her.

"What's troubling you love?" He asked.

"The fact that you keep calling me love." Marine replied irritatedly.

"Then enlighten me with your lovely name if you don't want me to call you by that term." Jack said. Marine glared at him and was tempted to throw a dagger at him at the risk of being searched by the guards. Yet her logic won over her emotions and she looked away from him as she pulled back the sleeve of her shirt and revealed a tatoo of a gun and a ship on water.

"It's Sharpshooter Marine." She said to him. "But I preferred to be simply called Marine."

"Ah the infamous Marine. I have heard of you from me other mates in Tortuga. They say you're one of the most feared pirates who ever lived, aside from me that is." At this Marine snorted and rolled her eyes. "A very skilled female pirate and the best sharpshooter in the whole of the Spanish Main." He added as an afterword. Marine watched him carefully as he stood up and sat down beside her against the bars. She didn't move away from him to Jack's surprise and he thought of it as an improvement.

"Consider my proposition love." He began, "I could use skills like yours and you need a captain. Imagine this, two of the greatest pirates, working together to steal any treasure they want, anytime they wish. We're going to be an indestructible pair, you and I. We'll steal all the rare and hard-to-find treasures in the world, that's our goal." He said. "Help yourself get a position in me crew as first mate by helping me get out of this jail and helping me retrieve me ship which I am in need of your help with. So, do we have an accord?" He asked, holding out his hand for her to shake. Marine stared at him silently before shaking her head with a small smile on her face.

"Despite the fact that it aggravates me to hear you continue to address me as 'love', it seems to me like I have no other choice in the matter. Aye, I accept." She said, taking his hand and shaking it. Jack suddenly tightened his grip on her hand and pulled her towards him, their bodies now as close to each other as it was back in the town when they had hidden from the guards. Jack grinned at her, the reflection of his gold tooth blinding her for a split second. She felt his hand slowly snake around her waist and pull her even closer to him. Marine's throat became dry as she found herself staring deep into Jack Sparrow's intense and lustful dark brown eyes. She felt her whole body grow weak under his gaze and she could feel her heart pounding inside her like mad. Jack raised his other hand and brushed its back against her cheek gently. Marine stiffened greatly at the touch and could feel her own skin tingling with the warmth.

"And while we're out at sea having a grand adventure, how's about we indulge in our own little 'adventure' savvy?" He whispered to her in a husky voice which sent chills down Marine's spine-whether it was out of fear or out of pleasure she couldn't tell. Jack held her chin and pulled it closer to his face, his lips hovering over hers. But before anything else could happen, they heard the sound of guns from outside the window. Jack froze from what he was about to do, dropped his hold on Marine and turned his gaze beyond the wall.

"I know those guns." He murmured to himself. He stood up and walked towards the barred windows, holding them and trying to peer through the darkness. "It's the Pearl." He said.

"The Black Pearl?" One of the prisoners asked, leaning against the bars towards them as near as he could. "I've heard stories. She's been preying on ships and settlements for near ten years. Never leaves any survivors." The other prisoners silently looked at each other in fear. The thought that such a ship was near frightened them.

"No survivors?" Jack asked, raising an eyebrow at his fellow prisoner. "Then where do the stories come from, I wonder?" A chuckle escaped from Marine's mouth when she heard him say that. Jack turned to face her and grinned in his usual mischievous manner.

Minutes later a cannonball suddenly exploded inside the dungeons and crashed on the other side of the cell, leaving a hole wide open for all the prisoners, except for Jack and Marine, to escape into. The prisoners stared at the mess and went out of the cell cheerfully.

"My sympathies, friends, you've no manner of luck at all." The same prisoner, who told the story of the Black Pearl, told them in mocking concern. Then with a wave of goodbye he left. It took a few seconds for what happened to register in Jack's mind and when it did he immediately took the bone from the other side and began whistling just like what the other prisoners did before.

"Come on, doggy. It's just you and me now. It's you and ol' Jack." After hearing a loud cough from behind him, Jack sighed. "And of course the lass. Now come on. Come on, good boy. That a good boy, come on! Bit closer, bit closer. That's it, that's it, doggy. Come on you filthy, slimy, mangy cur." Jack shouted angrily. Marine sighed and simply sat there, the memory of Jack's desiring gaze on her still fresh in her mind. She realized that if the guns hadn't made so much noise, she would have experienced her first kiss with Jack Sparrow. A slight blush came to her cheeks at that fact, but she didn't make such a fuss about it as other young women. It seemed cliche, but Marine like most women want committment and real love in men. That is why she is saving herself for that one special man of her dreams.

Now the only problem she had to really make a fuss about at present is how not to fall for the womanizing pirate's charms...

Her thoughts were suddenly interrupted when she heard a loud crash nearby and watched the dog run away in fear. Jack's face fell as his last hope ran away from him. "No, no, no, no, no, I didn't mean it. I didn't..." Marine couldn't help but laugh at Jack. The pirate turned his gaze to her and glared.

"What are you laughing for? I must remind you that the only way out just ran away from us, in case your tiny little brain could not comprehend it."

"Well you're an even bigger idiot since you're the one who scared it away!" Marine replied as her laughter slowly calmed down to a silent chuckle. It really wasn't his fault that the dog went away, but she knew and he didn't. It was something worth keeping from the pirate. Jack continued to glare at her until they both saw a prison guard crash down the stairs. Soon after the pirate called Twigg came down and looked around the room.

"This ain't the armory." He said. Another pirate by the name of Koehler followed after him and caught sight of both Jack and Marine. He grinned and nudged Twigg to get his attention.

"Well, well, well, look what we have here Twigg - Captain Jack Sparrow." He said to him. Twigg spat on the ground before replying, his eyes gazing at Jack behind the bars.

"Last time I saw you, you were all alone on a godforsaken island, shrinking into the distance. His fortunes aren't improved much." His eyes took note of Marine who was glaring at him. "At least...not that much. Who's the lovely wench Jack, and how did she end up in the cell with you?" Marine angrily kicked against the bars, causing Twigg and Koehler to back away in fear.

"Nobody calls me a wench and gets away with it. You hear me bastards? NO ONE!" She shouted. Jack raised his eyebrows, impressed with the pirate. Twigg turned to Jack and grinned.

"Quite the feisty one ain't she Jack? Where on earth did you pick up this tasty gel?" Jack grinned back but before he could say something, Marine stepped up even nearer the bars and narrowed her eyes at the two pirates.

"Worry about your own fortunes, gentlemen. The deepest circle of Hell is reserved for betrayers and mutineers." She said, repeating the lines Jack was supposed to say to them. Jack widened his eyes while the two pirates glared back at Marine. Koehler stuck out his hand through the bars under the moonlight and grabbed a hold of Marine's throat. She gasped and struggled against the tight grip. She could feel nothing but bones around her neck and it scared her shitless. They weren't like the fake ones usually used in movies. The skeletal hand that was on Marine's throat was frighteningly real. Jack looked at the hand and mused on it.

"So there is a curse. That's interesting."

"You know nothing of Hell." Koehler snapped at him before releasing his hold on Marine's throat and leaving together with Twigg. Marine fell back to the floor and held her throat tenderly, gasping for the breath that was taken away from her by surprise.

"That's very interesting." Jack said again, staring at the stairs where the two pirates left. Marine stared at him as if he was sprouting two other pairs of arms.

"Is that the only thing you can say about it? After simply standing there like an idiot and watching me be choked to death by that bastard? Not a 'are you okay' or a 'it's going to be alright' or a 'it must be awfully terrible for you to be treated like that'" She cried. Jack pretended to think about it and nodded to her with a grin.

"Aye, that's about it."

"Damn you Sparrow. Damn you to hell."

"That's Captain Jack Sparrow to you love."

"I give up! Obviously I can't get anything to stick through your empty head." Marine said in exasperation as she stood up and walked towards the barred window, where the sight of smoke and fire was everywhere. She watched the people run in panic and frowned. Ever since she was young, she only saw such disasters in television or in her dreams, as what's happened to her in the past few months. And as she looked beyond the window, she realized that it was the first time she looked at such chaos, such horror in person. Sadly for her, she was going to have to get used to it if she wanted to stay in character. She looked back inside the cell and saw Jack getting ready to sleep. Tired of the events that happened today and knowing that they wouldn't get out of the cell until Will showed up that next day, she sat down and fell into an uncomfortable slumber on the opposite wall from Jack.

* * *

Marine groaned softly as she felt the light hit her eyes and half-expected to feel her body aching like mad. But after clearing her senses she noticed that her body was comfortably leaning on something soft and warm. At first she thought it was hay, but after feeling the soft object rise and fall behind her, she realized that she was sleeping on a body. Without moving her body she craned her neck up and saw Jack's sleeping face as he slept with his arms encircled around her. Marine blushed a deep red color and tried to get out of his hold. But Jack's arms tightened and brought her even closer to him.

The feeling of being this close to Jack evoked a battle within her. She wanted to punch the daylights out of him and push him away from her but at the same time she wanted to stay there, safe and protected in his arms. She almost yielded to the latter part but then remembered what Jack usually did at night and shook her head.

"Get your disgusting self off of me Jack Sparrow!" She shouted. Jack opened one eye and obliged to her command while a small grin slowly grew in his face. Marine stepped out of his embrace and stood before him with a dangerous glare. "You're going to pay for that Sparrow."

"Really love? I had the impression that you enjoyed sleeping so close to me." He said cheerfully. "Especially since you didn't immediately move away from me when you woke up a few minutes ago." Marine widened her eyes at him.

"You were awake the whole time?! Then when I...you..."

"Aye love, I embraced you even tighter. And I was glad to find that you didn't do anything about it." Marine's eyes suddenly turned a very dark red color. She was about to get her dagger out when she heard the sound of footsteps coming closer. She turned to that direction and was glad to see Will coming down the stairs.

"You. Sparrow!" He called, ignoring Marine's presence. Jack took his gaze away from Marine and looked instead at Will.

"Aye."

"You are familiar with that ship - the Black Pearl?" He asked, talking about what happened last night. Jack nodded in reply.

"I've heard of it."

"More like been thrown off-board from it." Marine muttered under breath. Jack stole a glance from her with a curious expression on his face.

"Where does it make berth?" Will continued, bringing back Jack's attention to him.

"Where does it make berth? Have you not heard the stories? Captain Barbossa and his crew of miscreants sail from the dreaded Isla de Muerta. It's an island that cannot be found except by those who already know where it is." He replied.

"The ship's real enough. Therefore its anchorage must be a real place. Where is it?" Jack casually studied his nails as he answered Will's inquiry.

"Why ask me?"

"Because you're a pirate."

"And you want to turn pirate yourself, is that it?"

"Never! They took Miss Swann."

"Oh, so it is that you've found a girl. I see. Well, if you're intending to brave all, hasten to her rescue and so win fair lady's heart you'll have to do it alone, mate. I see no profit in it for me." Marine dragged Jack away for a minute and looked once at Will before looking at him.

"Listen Sparrow. If you want to get out of here and get back your lovely Pearl then I suggest you make an arrangement with him. Ask him his name. You'll realize how important he really is." She told him.

"Now how on earth would you know about all this love?" Jack asked her. Marine smiled mysteriously at him and shrugged casually.

"I'm a pirate. Need I say more?"

"I can get you out of here." Will cried as he watched Marine and Jack speak with each other. "If you show me the way to this island then I'll save you from being hanged to death." He said. Jack looked at Will.

"How's that? The key's run off."

"Do remind yourself that it is your own fault you don't have the key." Marine told him. Jack placed a finger on her mouth to silence her then motioned for Will to speak.

"I helped build these cells. These are half pin-barrel hinges." As he said this he picked up a bench and placed it at the bottom of the cell door. "With the right leverage and the proper application of strength... the door will lift free." He finished. Jack wasn't too eager on agreeing to Will's proposal, having some doubts on the supposed way out of the cells and pursed his lips in thought. Then considering Marine's advice, he looked at the young blacksmith and opened his mouth.

"What's your name?" He asked him. Will looked at Jack for a few minutes before answering.

"Will Turner." The name gave no reaction on Jack's face, but Marine knew that gears were turning rapidly in the pirate's mind.

"That will be short for William, I imagine. Good, strong name. No doubt, named for your father, eh?"

"Yes." Will said, looking very surprised at Jack's supposed guess.

"Uh-huh. Well, Mr. Turner, I've changed me mind. If you spring me and the lass from this cell I swear on pain of death I shall take you to the Black Pearl and your bonny lass. Do we have an accord?" Jack held his hand out to Will. The blacksmith stared at his hand for a while before shaking it firmly.

"Agreed."

"Agreed. Get me out." Will quickly got to it. He used all his strength to push the bench down and lift the cell door. The bars groaned and creaked at the strain before falling down to the floor with a loud crash.

"Hurry. Someone will have heard that." Will said cautiously as he looked up at the stairs. Jack stood up from the floor, went out of the cell then walked up to a desk where they hid all of the prisoner's weapons.

"Not without my effects."

"Wait up! My stuff are there as well. You better not lay a hand on them Sparrow or I'll grab them from you and kill you with them!" Marine cried as she scrambled up after Jack. The pirate casually waved his hand at her as he continued to walk.

"Aye lass, aye."

* * *

"We're going to steal the ship. That ship?" Will asked incredulously at Jack as he glanced at the Dauntless docked at the port. Marine smiled at Will.

"Stealing is such a strong word for that we plan to do Will." She joked.

"Commandeer. We're going to commandeer that ship. Nautical term." Jack commented then turned to face him with a serious expression on his face. "One question about your business, boy, or there's no use going. This girl - how far are you willing to go to save her?"

"I'd die for her." Will said proudly.

"Oh, good. No worries, then." Jack said with relief as he began walking towards a boat that was lying on its lonesome self near the water. Marine rolled her eyes before following after him and dragging Will behind her.

Minutes later Will found himself under the same boat underwater, with Jack in the lead and Marine in the middle. Luckily for them there was enough space for three people to hide in. They were walking as fast as they could towards the ship they were to go into. Marine didn't think this could actually happen in real life but she found herself walking with Jack and Will under the water and breathe normally.

"Normally the logical part of my brain would never believe we're actually walking underwater with only a boat for our source of air." She said to no one in particular. They continued walking until Will accidentally stepped on one of the lobster traps set there by the sailors. He tried to kick it away but it was stuck to his leg. He gave a frustrated sigh and looked over Marine to see Jack casually leading the way.

"This is either madness or brilliance." Will muttered to himself.

"It's remarkable how often those two traits coincide." Jack replied.

"Over there! It's the Dauntless." Marine said as they neared the base of the ship which was submerged underwater. Slowly and carefully they went out of the boat, taking a deep breath first, then climbed up the sides onto the desk. All the guards stopped what they were doing and stared at the three soaked people as they hopped on board.

"Everyone stay calm! We are taking over the ship." Jack announced.

"Aye! Avast!" Will cried in a pathetic attempt to sound pirate-ish. The men on board howled with laughter at the three of them. Even Marine couldn't help but snigger to herself. Jack stepped back from the blacksmith and stared at him as if he had grown horns on his head.

"This ship cannot be crewed by two men and one lady. You'll never make it out of the bay." Gillette said arrogantly at them. Jack casually took out his gun and pointed it at Gillette's nose.

"Son...I'm Captain Jack Sparrow. Savvy?"

"That doesn't prove your point now does it Sparrow?" Marine asked him innocently, her eyes twinkling evilly. Jack silently glared at her while he sent Gillette and his men off the ship. Afterwards he disappeared for a short while below deck to tend to something there. Will at the time looked to the side and watched as Gillette rowed his boat then waved his arms at the Commodore who was riding on the Interceptor. Marine took her gaze away from Jack who was coming back up on deck and saw it as well. She knew that Norrington didn't know where they were yet and so pulled both Jack and Will aside, among the crates before any of them could say or do something.

"Here they come. Get your butts away from sight!" She whispered.

"But aren't they already hidden from everyone's gazes? Perhaps you'd like to see them for yourself." Jack teased seductively. This time it was Marine's turn to glare at him.

"Shut up Sparrow." Their conversation was cut short when Norrington boarded the ship and looked around.

"Search every cabin, every hold, down to the bilges." He commanded to his men. The sailors immediately went to work and ran around the whole ship. Jack, Will and Marine crouched towards the railing when no one was looking and each took a rope from the mast. Then they swung onto the Interceptor together and landed on the other deck harmlessly. Norrington noticed them standing on the other ship and began shouting orders to the guards. "Sailors, back to the Interceptor! Now!"

"Quickly men!" One of the sailors cried. But as much as they tried they were too late in chasing after the Interceptor. Jack stood as near as he could get to the Dauntless, took off his hat and mocked a respectful bow.

"Thank you, Commodore, for getting us ready to make way. We'd have had a hard time of it by ourselves." Marine walked up to Jack and chuckled at the other ship.

"Do you think it was a good idea to disable the rudder chain and sink the poor ship? It's such a waste to see an impressive ship go down like that." She told him. Jack looked at her at the same time that the ship slowly sunk to the sea. He narrowed his eyes at her and pointed at the scene before them.

"How did you know that? And how on earth did you know about me being abandoned by the Black Pearl or about this William Turner being important? I didn't tell you all that did I?"

"Maybe you did and your itty-bitty brain just couldn't remember it." Marine said as she smiled at him and walked across the deck to the other side. Jack stared at her and shook his head in disbelief.

"I'll find out how you did that love, mark me words."

* * *

Will was sharpening his sword with Marine looking right behind him while Jack was busy at the helm leading them to the place Marine knew as Tortuga. It would take a few more hours before they reached the docks and so Marine decided to ask Will to sharpen her swords too. Amusingly Will agreed and was presently sharpening her own short sword and her daggers. 

"Odd isn't it lad? That you'd be sharpening my sword and daggers now when you told me yesterday at your blacksmith's shop that you'd never help out a pirate." Marine told him humorously. Will smiled at her in return.

"Yes, I never thought I'd help two pirates escape and steal a ship together with them. It's all just moving too fast..." He said. Marine held his shoulder and patted it comfortingly.

"Don't fret Will. You're doing it for a very just reason. I'm confident that you'll be pardoned for all the things you've done so far. Trust me." She said to him. Will nodded to her gratefully then turned his attention to Jack.

"When I was a lad living in England, my mother raised me by herself. After she died, I came out here, looking for my father." Will said. Jack was indifferent to his story and turned his head to him in a casual manner.

"Is that so?"

"My father, Will Turner." Will said as he placed the daggers on the ground and walked up to Jack. "At the jail, it was only after you learned my name that you agreed to help. Since that's what I wanted, I didn't press the matter. I'm not a simpleton, Jack. You knew my father." He accused him. Jack lifted his hands up as if in surrender.

"I knew 'im. Probably one of the few who knew him as William Turner. Everyone else just called him Bootstrap or Bootstrap Bill." Will looked at him confusingly.

"Bootstrap?"

"Good man. Good pirate. I swear you look just like him." Will glared at Jack, insulted at what he heard from him.

"It's not true. He was a merchant sailor. A good, respectable man who obeyed the law."

"He was a bloody pirate, a scallywag." Jack shouted at him.

"My father was not a pirate." Will shouted back as he took out his sword from its sheath. Marine widened her eyes and walked up to him.

"Will, have you lost your mind?! Put that sword down and leave Sparrow to his lies or whatever it is that you want to think of it." She told him.

"Aye, put it away, son. It's not worth you getting beat again." Jack provoked, making Marine glare at him warningly.

"You didn't beat me. you ignored the rules of engagement. In a fair fight, I'd killed you." Will pointed out to him.

"Then that's not much incentive for me to fight fair, then, is it?" Jack suddenly moved one of the sails on purpose so that the yard swung over towards them. Marine managed to duck just in time but it unfortunately caught Will and swung him out over the sea, making him drop his sword and hang on for dear life. Marine stood here right by Jack with a glare on her face. Knowing what was going to happen and do something about it was different than knowing what was going to happen and simply watch it. Marine preferred the former. Jack walked as close to Will as he could get and spoke.

"Now, as long as you're just hanging there, pay attention. The only rules that really matter are these - what a man can do and what a man can't do. For instance, you can accept that your father was a pirate and a good man or you can't. But pirate is in your blood, boy, so you'll have to square with that someday. Now, me, for example, I can let you drown but the lass and I can't bring this ship into Tortuga all by our onesies, savvy? So..." At this he swung Will back on board, causing the blacksmith to fall down on deck, and offered him his sword as Will stood up. "Can you sail under the command of a pirate? Or can you not?"

Will took the sword from Jack in defeat and looked up at him knowingly. "Tortuga?" Jack grinned, revealing his golden tooth, and answered.

"Tortuga."

* * *

Once they landed on port and strapped the ship to the docks properly, they came down on land and began cruising through the busy streets of Tortuga. It was nighttime, the time of day in Tortuga where everything came to life. Women and men, mostly pirates and prostitutes walked to and fro the taverns and the inns. Gunshots, laughter, giggles, shouts and the clinking of mugs of rum could be heard everywhere they passed by. As they walked, Jack began to speak to both Will and Marine.

"Have either of you visited this wonderful island?" He asked them. Will shook his head while Marine shrugged.

"A couple of times, visiting old captains, gaining new captains, this is where I relax and take a break when I'm not following some captain's orders." Jack smiled at her then turned to Will.

"More importantly, it is indeed a sad life that has never breathed deep this sweet, proliferous bouquet that is Tortuga, savvy? What do you think?"

"It'll linger." Will muttered, his nose wrinkling at the strong aroma of sweat, the sea, perfumes, rum and blood. Even Marine pinched her nose right in front of Jack just to prove their point. Jack paid no heed to her constant way of irritating him while Will chuckled lightly. Jack ignored Marine and continued his proud speech about Tortuga.

"I'll tell you mate, if every town in the world were like this one, no man would ever feel unwanted."

"Yeah, they'd feel terrified." Marine muttered and smiled inwardly to herself as she caught sight of one of the prostitutes she saw at the movie. Jack saw the woman and smiled cheerfully at her, opening his arms wide as if to embrace her.

"Scarlett!" Before he could move, the woman named Scarlett slapped his face. She glared at him once before walking away. Jack stood there, dumbfounded by what just occurred. "Not sure I deserved that." He murmured. Then he saw another woman walk up to him and smiled at her instead, thoughts of what happened immediately disappearing from his mind. "Giselle!" The woman walked up to him and pointed at where Scarlett left.

"Who was she?! And who is this?!"

"What?" Jack asked innocently. Instead of falling for the trick Giselle slapped him on the cheek as well before heading towards the same direction Scarlett left. "I may have deserved that." Jack muttered, rubbing his cheek painfully. Marine smirked and gave a loud laugh.

"And that, Sparrow is why no woman wants to stay with you for as long as they could." She told him. Jack grumbled to himself about women and committment as they continued on to one of the small houses located in a far corner of Tortuga. They entered this house and walked to the back towards the pig sty. A man Marine knew in both movie and dreams as Gibbs was sleeping among them. Will grimaced and stood there hesitantly as Jack moved foward.

"Are we supposed to go over there and wake him up?"

"Not necessary." Jack replied. He grabbed a bucket of water and smiled knowingly at both Will and Marine, gesturing with his head for the other buckets. Then without warning he threw the first bucket at Gibbs.

"Curse you for breathing, you slack-jawed idiot!" Gibbs shouted as he wiped the water from his face and spitted out some of the water that he accidentally drank. He looked up to see who it was that threw the bucket and widened his eyes in shock. "Mother's love! Jack! You should know better than to wake a man when he's sleeping. 'S bad luck."

"Ah, fortunately I know how to counter it. The man who did the waking buys, the man who was sleeping, a drink. The man who was sleeping drinks it while listening to a proposition from the man who did the waking." Jack told him as his hands moved about in that unique way of his that Marine usually failed to mimic back when she was in her own world. Gibbs pondered on it and nodded.

"Aye, that'll about do it." He said. Will suddenly threw another bucket of water at Gibbs without warning. The man spluttered as he stared at Will. "Blast! I'm already awake!"

"That was for the smell." Will said as he threw the bucket away. Marine grinned mischievously as she took her own bucket of water and threw it at Gibbs. This time Gibbs seemed ready to explode in anger and stood up to face Marine.

"Now what the hell was THAT for?!" He cried. Marine threw the bucket along with the others and crossed her arms at Gibbs.

"Oh just my usual greeting, mate. Did ye miss me much?" She asked him. Gibbs stared at Marine for some time before it registered in his mind who it was and rushed at her for a big hug. Marine stepped back and looked at him up and down reluctantly. Gibbs seemed to understand what Marine was trying to say and smiled at her instead.

"Marine! My favorite little troublemaker! What brings you here and along with Jack Sparrow of all people?" He asked her as he laughed and slapped her back in a friendly manner. Marine gave a silent sigh and decided to let it pass. She grinned at Gibbs and motioned to Jack as she answered.

"Well he made a proposition with me that I couldn't refuse, as he will do to you. But let's talk about it somewhere else. Sparrow did say he was buying drinks for us wasn't he? Come along now mates. Let us enjoy the evening!" Marine said cheerfully as she dragged both Gibbs and Will away from the house towards a nearby tavern. Jack stood there for a while before reacting to what Marine said and chasing after them.

"Oy, I never said I was going to buy you a free drink! Come back here you little sneak!"

They entered a tavern similar to all the taverns in Tortuga. Will had to move away as a couple of men brushed past them in heated fistfights. Jack stopped to turn to Will a few distance from the table they were going to sit in.

"Keep a sharp eye." He whispered before going along with Marine and Gibbs who were sitting on a table, chatting animatedly with each other.

"So how do you two know each other?" Jack asked as he sat down on a chair with them and ordered drinks. Marine was the one who explained to Jack.

"Well I was a wandering pirate, a nomadic. I happened to drop into a ship with Gibbs as one of the crew. We met each other, got along pretty well and became good friends. Whenever I came here I would visit him just to see how he was doing." She said.

"Did you wake him up with the bucket?" Jack asked as he leaned forward on the table eagerly. Marine's smile turned into one similar to that of the Chesire cat's and she winked at him.

"All the time."

"It be a miracle I won't die from the sniffles." Gibbs muttered. Marine laughed and stopped to take a drink from the mug that a waitress placed down on the table. Jack flirted with the woman for a while before letting her go to do her business. Marine at the time simply rolled her eyes and continuously drank the mug. But even if Marine had a calm and indifferent outward appearance she could feel her insides screaming angrily and wanting to wring Jack's neck until he dies. She doesn't care if he flirts with women but if he does it in her sight that's a different story. Gibbs probably sensed the unspoken anger because he suddenly brought Jack back to his attention.

"Now, what's the nature of this venture of your'n?" He asked, grabbing his own mug and attempting to drink from it.

"I'm going after the Black Pearl." Jack casually said, causing Gibbs to almost choke on his drink. "I know where it's going to be, and I'm going to take it." Jack added. Gibbs looked at him in a warning sort of concern.

"Jack, it's a fool's errand. Why, you know better than me the tales of the Black Pearl."

"That's why I know what Barbossa is up to. All I need is a crew."

"From what I hear tell of Captain Barbossa, he's not a man to suffer fools, nor strike a bargain with one."

"Well, then I'd say it's a very good thing I'm not a fool then, eh?" Jack replied arrogantly as he stretched out his feet under the table and placed his arms behind his head. Gibbs went closer to Jack and whispered loud enough for only Marine and Jack to hear.

"Prove me wrong. What makes ye think Barbossa will give up his ship to you?"

"Let's just say it's a matter of leverage, eh?" Jack said as he nodded his head at Will who was still standing and was watching another fight occur.

"The kid?" Gibbs asked after he took a look at Will.

"That is the child of Bootstrap Bill Turner. His only child, savvy?" At this fact Gibbs slowly smiled.

"Is he, now? "Leverage," says you. "I think I feel a change in the wind," says I. I'll find us a crew. There's bound to be some sailors on this rock crazy as you."

"One can only hope." Jack said as he took a mug from the table. "Take what you can..." Gibbs took his own mug and clinked it with Jack's as a toast.

"...Give nothing back." As soon as they clinked Jack and Gibbs drank the rest of their mugs. Marine sat there and watched them the whole time, standing up once they were done and leaving her mug still half-full which Jack took eagerly for himself.

"Since you both are enjoying yourselves, I'll take Will to a respectable inn where he and I can sleep peacefully before you bring us out into some crazy, insane adventure. IN OUR OWN SEPARATE ROOMS YOU GODDAMNED PERVERT!" She shouted at Jack as a perverted grin slowly formed on his face, revealing the golden tooth within.

"Don't forget that that boy's an ennuch. You'll be better off sleeping with me love."

"SHUT UP OR I'LL BLOW A REALLY LARGE HOLE IN YOUR ARSE WITH ME REVOLVER SPARROW!!"

* * *

"Feast your eyes, Captain. All of them, faithful hands before the mast, every man worth his salt. And crazy to boot." Gibbs said that next morning as he showed Jack and the rest, the line of men who were going to be working for them. Jack inspected them slowly and stopped before a man with a parrot perched on his shoulder. Will looked at the pirates as well and raised a curious eyebrow at Jack.

"So this is your able-bodied crew?" He asked in disbelief. Jack ignored him and began to speak to the man before him.

"You, sailor!"

"Cotton, sir." Gibbs noted to him. Jack looked back at the man and placed his hands behind his back in an authoritizing way.

"Mr. Cotton... do you have the courage and fortitude to follow orders and stay true in the face of danger and almost certain death?" Marine remembered memorizing that line and trying to say it just as fast as Jack did and always failed. Even Johnny Deep, the actor who played Jack Sparrow had a hard time saying it, as is mentioned in some magazines. How this pirate did it was a wonder and a mystery that she knew would never be known. Jack waited for an answer but none came from the man before him. "Mr. Cotton! Answer, man!" He demanded.

"He's a mute, sir. Poor devil had his tongue cut out, so he trained the parrot to talk for him. No one's yet figured how." Gibbs explained as Cotton opened his mouth and proved his point to them. Jack and Will winced as they saw the inside. Marine grimaced as she looked at Cotton. She couldn't quite imagine how a person would cut his own tongue off for any reason at all. Jack looked at the parrot perched on Cotton's shoulder, walked past him but then stepped back and asked the parrot the question instead.

"Mr. Cotton 's... parrot. Same question."

"Wind in the sails! Wind in the sails!" The parrot replied.

"Mostly, we figure, that means "yes."" Gibbs told him.

"O'course it does." He agreed then turned to Will questioningly. "Satisfied?"

"Well, you've proved they're mad." Will replied.

"And what's the benefit for us?" A voice spoke up. Jack looked at the very last person on the line with an eyebrow raised curiously. He then slowly walked in front of the person and took off the hat, revealing a dark-skinned woman who had long curly hair. He smiled at her.

"Anamaria." Marine smiled smugly to herself as she watched the woman slap him harder than any other woman who slapped him within the past few days. She was glad to find someone else mightily pissed at Jack.

"I suppose you didn't deserve that one either." Will told Jack. The pirate rubbed his cheek painfully and muttered a soft answer.

"No, that one I deserved."

"You stole my boat!" Anamaria accused him angrily.

"Actually -" Jack was interrupted when Anamaria slapped him again. Jack's head flew to the side and snapped right back to face Anamaria to Marine's amusement. "Borrowed. Borrowed without permission. But with every intention of bringing it back to you." He told her.

"But you didn't!"

"You'll get another one." Anamaria pointed a finger at his chest and poked it painfully.

"I will." Marine remembered this scene and wanted to say the next line so she did before Will could open his mouth.

"A better one." She announced as she patted Jack's shoulders in a forceful manner. Jack looked at her in a panic then turned to Anamaria and nodded vigorously.

"A better one!" He agreed. Will rode along as well and pointed to the first moving ship he could spot at the docks which happened to be the Interceptor that they were riding on.

"That one."

"What one? That one?! Aye, that one. What say you?" Jack asked Anamaria who looked at him suspiciously for a while. The woman considered it and shouted in agreement together with the other pirates. And with that, they began to climb aboard the Interceptor and prepared to set sail by Jack's orders.

"Anchors aweigh." The parrot on Cotton's shoulder cried. Gibbs walked up to Jack and shook his head.

"No, no, no, no, no, it's frightful bad luck to bring a woman aboard, sir. Two women at that." He told the captain when he saw that both Anamaria and Marine were far from earshot.

"It'd be far worse not to have them." Jack said as he involuntarily raised a hand up to his cheek. What Gibbs didn't know was that Marine had crept back up to them and was standing right beside them casually.

"A very wise decision captain, if I do say so myself. Better save those cute, beardy cheeks of yours or they'll start turning red." She teased, causing both men to jump in surprise. Jack pushed Gibbs away before Marine could say anything else and glared at her for a short period of time, debating within himself whether to kill her or not. Then with an inward defeated sigh he began walking towards the helm to get ready to set sail. Marine skipped after him in a very cheerful manner and stopped to watch Jack look at his compass. Jack glanced at her and finding that she was still staring at him, closed the compass and placed it back in his pocket. Marine grinned at him once she was sure he was going to listen.

"So Sparrow, do you intend to really give up this lovely ship to Anamaria? This ship ain't going to last a month with you so you might as well give it to her now and let her "commandeer" it." She said. "Or perhaps if you like, I can go to her and tell her that she is free to mutilate you into tiny pieces for payment instead. I know I'll volunteer to assist her in that." She added. Jack narrowed his eyes at her and pushed her away from the helm.

"Don't you have work to do love? Hop to it or I'll throw you overboard." He threatened. Marine just laughed and glared back fearlessly.

"Throw me overboard? Forgive me for disappointing you SPARROW," She said, stressing out his name just to spite him. "But you were the one who asked me to join your "able-bodied" crew in the first place. If I left your crew I would simply go into the Flying Bridesmaid and wait for another, more fitting captain to follow or I could even get me own ship and me own crew. After all, I am the infamous, sought-after Sharpshooter Marine." She said smugly. Jack gritted his teeth and instead of lifting his fists at her like he wanted to, turned to the other crewmen and shouted orders at them. Marine smiled at him in satisfaction for successfully pissing him off and began walking to the deck to help out the others in lifting the sails.


	3. Chapter 3

**AN: **Hey there! Glad to have a few reviews from people. Thank you to those who have the time to make one. And thank you to those who read this fic. I'm glad there are a few people out there reading this. Don't forget to read and review! XD Moving on, here's Chapter 3

* * *

**Chapter 3**

Once they left the port, Jack kept an eye on Marine as she went about the ship, speaking to the other men and laughing heartily at their reactions once they found out who they were working with. Even Anamaria was half-surprised and half-impressed when, as proof of her title, Marine threw a knife from one end of the ship at an apple on top of Gibbs' head who was standing on the other side. Everyone laughed as they watched Gibbs almost faint from fright and cheered when the apple was sliced in two.

By the time it was close to lunch, Marine had befriended the whole crew, and they respected her like they've been friends for years. Jack was impressed by her skills in socializing and mused that it was perhaps the very reason she worked well with so many captains and ships in short periods of times. After pondering on this he looked at Marine and noticed the way the wind blew her short and spiky black hair, the way her face glowed brightly whenever she laughed, the way her body swayed slightly, revealing curves that weren't there when she simply stood still or the way the sun shone down upon her and made her olive skin glow in a strange but beautiful light. A lot of things came to Jack's mind as he imagined what it would be like to sleep with Marine. But he wasn't going to go further than that if he wanted to continue living peacefully.

Jack knew that the woman before him was definitely a force to be reckoned with. But she wasn't like any other female pirates he knew or heard of, which wasn't that many acutally. No, she wasn't like the masculine-like pirate women Jack met. She was feminine in a strong, independent sort of way. He also sensed a good heart in Marine as he recalled looking at her as she stared sympathetically beyond the barred windows back in the dungeons that night. But he found that sometimes, even she could play dirty like the pirate she really was. A beautiful woman with a fiery and good spirit who played hard to get. She was definitely an interesting woman to consider. Sometimes he wanted to grab her, kiss her and bring her to bed with him. Other times he wanted to slice her head off and feed it to the sharks. In lamest, pride-less terms, Jack found a woman who could keep him hanging on his feet like a puppy waiting for a treat from the master.

Jack continued to steer the wheel until the sky began to grow dark. Marine was still on deck, cleaning up the ship to sparkling perfection. There was nothing else she had wished to do, especially when she knew the ship was pretty close to the Isla de Muerta-if her familiarity with the movie was right. She stopped working for a while to take a breath and felt eyes on her. She looked around the ship and when she saw Jack at the helm staring at her, she blushed and quickly turned away. Jack, who never left his eyes on her ever since they had set sail, saw this reaction on Marine and a smile grew slowly on his face. "Gibbs," He ordered as the old crew mate walked up to him. "Mind the wheel." He stepped down as Gibbs obediently did what Jack demanded and walked up to Marine who continued to move about the ship, mopping the floors squeaky clean. He leaned on one of the poles and crossed his arms arrogantly, looking at the young female pirate move with a smile on his face.

"Why did you look away when you caught me staring at you love?" He asked her all of a sudden. Marine glared at him and shoved a mop in his face.

"Because SPARROW, I do not like being stared at like some kind of whore or showgirl." She snapped at him testily and shoved the tool at his chest. Jack took the mop from her as she walked away and passed it to another man while following her below deck.

"Nay, it wasn't because of that." Jack pointed out as Marine stopped before the cabin she was staying in together with AnaMaria. "You're attracted to me, and that is why you blushed when you saw me looking at you." He said, confidently sure of this answer. Marine looked at him with such fury in her eyes that if the lines "looks could kill" was true, Jack would have been sliced, diced, shredded, squashed, burned, maimed, smashed, fried and buried all at the same time.

"You are pathetic Jack Sparrow. An embarrassment to the name of pirates!" She spat in disgust. "The commodore was right when he said that you were the worst pirate in the world. I can't even imagine you going from port to port stealing any valuable treasure or gold. All you ever think of is drinking rum and sleeping with women every night. You don't have the dignity or the honor of a real pirate. And I won't be surprised if the women you sleep with never even realized that they were sleeping with a goddamn pirate. They probably assumed that you were just a desperate peasant who wanted to waste his money on them." She finished, immediately regretting it when she saw Jack's reaction. As soon as she said the last word, Jack grabbed her shoulders in a very painful grip and shoved her harshly against the wall opposite the cabin door. Marine winced in slight pain then widened her eyes as she stared at Jack who never let go of Marine's shoulders and leaned uncomfortably close to her.

"You have gone too far this time lass." He hissed, his eyes becoming dark and angry. "I've let you slap me, insult me, smack me on the head, humiliate me in front of me crew, and I've even let you call me all the names you wanted. But if you think that I'll let you insult me piracy then you better think again lass. For that is me only pride and life and nothing, I mean nothing is going to take that away from me. Savvy?" She could see anger and slight hurt in his eyes and for the first time since she met him, she was terrified. Marine didn't answer him and averted her eyes from him, thinking that Jack would strike a sword through her or place a bullet through her head. She didn't move and she didn't struggle. She just stood there, and braced for the pain, knowing that she deserved it for insulting him greatly. But to her surprise Jack released his hold on her, took a step back and began walking up the deck. Marine stood there in silent shock, her heart pounding furiously-not out of pleasure anymore. Once she had calmed down she silently went up to the deck and immediately headed for the crow's nest, the place farthest away from Jack then. As she walked her shoulders throbbed, and she gave a dry, silent chuckle.

"Great. Just great. Go ahead and give me a constant reminder of what an ass I've been to Sparrow." Marine strained her muscles and ignored the pain on her shoulders as she held onto the ropes and made a slow but sure climb to the highest spot in the ship. Then when she was comfortable, she leaned her head on the pole and simple stared up at the darkening sky.

"A big storm's coming..." She muttered to herself. Seconds later she heard the sound of someone else climbing up the ropes to the crow's nest. Thinking that it was Jack, Marine took out her short sword from its sheath and thrust it outward at the incomer. She heard a soft gasp then the sound of a familiar person giving a short yelp. Marine stood up and looked over the crow's nest to see Will hanging on the rope for dear life. It turned out that Marine surprised Will and made him loose his grip. She widened her eyes and attempted to help him.

"Will! I'm so sorry about that. I thought you were someone else." She said as she pulled him in. Will managed to get into the crow's nest while trying to catch his breath. He looked at Marine and smiled.

"It's alright. I suppose I should have called your attention before climbing up." He told her. Marine shook her head at him.

"You don't have to do that. You just caught me at a wrong time that's all." She muttered softly. Will raised an eyebrow in amusement and looked at the direction where Jack was, eating dinner down the decks at the gallery. Then he turned his gaze to Marine who was staring at him curiously.

"You said that you thought I was someone else. That person wouldn't happen to be Sparrow now would it?" He asked. Marine stiffened and forced a laugh from her own self to make him believe that it was nothing. Her shoulders ached all of a sudden and she winced slightly. Then she turned to Will and smiled as wide as she could

"Oh, no. Not at all! Why on earth would I expect that bloody pirate to come here?" She asked him. Will scratched his head and shrugged in reply. Marine sighed and looked up at the sky again. She decided to change topics, anything to be rid of the topic they were currently in.

"So...you're really doing everything you can to save this woman aren't ya? She must be really special if you're going through all this." She told him. Will looked at her then smiled and followed her gaze at the clouds.

"Perhaps...but I am a fool for actually considering that Miss Swann might return my feelings if I save her." Marine chuckled.

"It's not that Will...you're fretting about an entirely different thing. I know for a fact that even if she had rejected you, you would have still come to her rescue. Don't lie lad, I can tell by that silly look on your face." Marine accused him jokingly. "You're worried that you might not have the strength or the courage to save her. The blacksmith smiled at her.

"You're very different from all the other pirates I've met and heard about. Are you sure you're a pirate?" He asked curiously. Marine narrowed her eyes at him and smacked him on the head like what she did to Jack during the time she met him.

"Are ye blind lad?! I'm Sharpshooter Marine! One of the most feared pirates in the whole of the Spanish Main. How the hell am I different from the other pirates?" She cried. Will smiled nervously and raised his hands up in defense.

"I didn't mean to insult you. It's just that you've been the friendliest person in this ship. Even the crew seems to take a liking to you now." He said. "I didn't think pirates would be so trustful and casual when working with all sorts of people." Marine sighed and smiled at Will, the anger subsiding.

"Aye, I guess you're right about that. Only a few pirates would be so kind and open to others. I just love making new friends and keeping them. I most likely got that from my father. He was even friendlier than I am." She told him. Then after thinking for a while, she realized that she had no idea which father she was mentioning. Both the father in her dreams and her own foster father were amiable. She gave a soft chuckle then looked at Will.

"Why don't you go down to the gallery and have something to eat. I don't plan on having dinner at the moment and I can handle the watch on my own." She told him. Will looked at her skeptically but obliged and carefully went back down from the crow's nest. Marine looked over the wood and gave a small wave to the blacksmith as he treaded his way below deck. When he was gone, Marine leaned back on the post and closed her eyes, dreams of Jack Sparrow invading her whole subconscious.

* * *

Jack was relieved to have set the sails before the storm arrived. It had suddenly come in without warning and tossed around the ship like a bowl of salad. He left his interrupted dinner and ran to the helm to wrestle with the wheel as the winds began to blow harder. The rest of the crew, together with Will, followed and began to run all over the ship. Jack took out his compass while holding the wheel with the other, looked at it and began to steer with the help of it. Marine stuggled against the wind as she went down from the crow's nest and went towards Will and Gibbs who were holding on to some ropes. With her help they tied one end of these ropes around everyone and tied the other to the poles. 

"How can we sail to an island that nobody can find with a compass that doesn't work?" He asked. Marine was about to answer when a large wave crashed onto them. Marine braced for the force of the water and coughed out water when the waters drew back. Her shoulders began aching like hell and she had to bite her lip to keep from uttering a soft groan. Will was coughing out water as well but he was safe to her relief. Gibbs recovered himself before looking at Will.

"Aye, the compass doesn't point north but we're not trying to find north, are we?" He pointed out. Marine turned her gaze at Jack, who was still steering, and began to go up to the helm, holding on to the rails as she did.

"Sparrow!" She tried to shout above the howling winds. "We should drop canvas and wait for the storm to pass!" It seemed Jack didn't hear her and continued to hold on to the wheel. "SPARROW!" She cried again. Then she decided to shout once more. "CAPTAIN!" This time she knew he had heard her because his head turned to her side for a brief moment before he looked back ahead of him. Marine narrowed her eyes and suddenly withdrew her grip on the rails. She walked up to Jack at the helm and grabbed his collar, forcing him to look at her.

"Didn't you hear me Captain?" She cried. "I said we should drop canvas and wait for the storm to pass! You're going to bring the crew to their deaths at this rate!"

"She can hold a bit longer." He replied to her with a grin on his face. "She be a tough one."

"What's in your head that's put you in such a fine mood, Captain?" Gibbs asked as he walked up the steps towards them. Jack looked at his first mate and turned his stare ahead of him as if seeing something no one else could.

"We're catching up."

"Well I'm not going to risk my neck out here just because the captain of this ship thinks we're catching up to something we can't even see!" She shouted in anger.

"And by what power do you think you possess to order the Captain around like that?" He snapped back at her. "As long as you're standing on this ship with me in command, you follow my orders. It is my decision whether we retreat or whether we stand our ground in this blasted storm. I say we stand. Savvy?"

"Fine! But don't blame me when one of your crew dies from this storm!" Marine shouted as she glared at him and released her hold on him. It was back to the crow's nest for her. It seemed to be the only place in the ship where she could get her peace of mind. She stomped angrily towards the ropes and began climbing. The wind was blowing harder this time and the pain in her shoulders was becoming unbearable. She could hear everyone's voices shouting and trying to call her but she ignored it. To her surprise Jack's voice came above the rest of the noise.

She looked down over her shoulder and saw Jack standing right below her. Gibbs had taken over the wheel at the helm but he was looking at her from where he was worriedly. Even Anamaria stood beside the captain and was glaring at her.

"You get down here Marine before the waves crash down upon us and swallow you into the depths of Davy Jones' Locker!" She shouted. Marine glared, specifically at Jack who was glaring back, and answered back.

"Why? It wouldn't matter with our dear captain whether I die or not! In fact, he would be delighted to see me gone." Jack opened his mouth to shout back at her, closed it a few seconds later, opened it, then closed it again. Will came up closer, interrupting the debate within Jack and held out his hand towards Marine.

"I care about your safety Marine! I bet you the whole crew's worried about you. Please come down." He said, looking at the others for affirmation. Almost everyone in the ship nodded their heads in agreement and called her. Marine looked at them all and sighed in defeat.

"Alright, I'm coming." She mumbled more to herself. She shifted her weight against the ropes and began going down on deck. One of the crew shouted something and pointed beyond the waters. Marine looked up from her climb and widened her eyes as a very huge wave loomed towards them.

"Oh shit..." She muttered to herself. The wave crashed down angrily, almost drowning everyone on the ship. When the wave rolled back, Jack found himself staring at the ropes where Marine used to be with no one holding on to them any longer. Will managed to keep himself steady together with the rest of the crew and when he saw that his newfound friend was nowhere to be seen he searched the deck for her, shouting out her name, waiting for an answer. The other pirates searched all around as well but it was Jack who had the wit to check the ropes that were tied to the pole. One of them was stretched to its limit, as if it was being pulled at by some strong force. Jack followed this across the deck over the rail and watched the rope suddenly break. He tried to jump and grab it but he wasn't fast enough. Jack cursed and immediately tossed aside his hat and his effects. Without any hesitation at all he stood on top of the rails and dived into the cold and furious current.

Will and Gibbs were still looking around when they heard the sound of a loud splash. They turned their heads around and saw that Jack was gone with his things lying just near the rails. They ran towards it and leaned over, trying to peer through the darkness into the ocean. The rope was slowly moving, letting them know that Jack was swimming. That was when Gibbs took hold of Marine's rope and cursed himself.

"We have enough trouble as it is, why did the lass have to bring even more trouble upon us?" He muttered. Then he looked towards the rest of the crew and began shouting orders.

"Anamaria, you take the wheel and steer this ship as long as you could. The rest of ye follow her orders. Cotton, Pint, come over here and grab the rope!" Everyone began moving about again while the two pirates Gibbs had called for did as Gibbs had ordered. The first mate turned his attention to Will who was standing there worriedly and expectantly.

"Shout when ye see that Jack has a hold o' Marine and help us pull the rope." He said. Will nodded and leaned forward, trying his best to peer through the darkness with his eyes as much as he could.

While all this was going on above deck, Marine kept to the surface of the water for as long as she could. She tried to pull herself back to the ship but the rope had suddenly torn apart. The waves were too strong and the ship was too far away from her reach now. She widened her eyes in fear as she watched herself move even farther away. She scolded herself mentally for allowing such rage to overcome her. She hated herself for trying to climb up to the crow's nest knowing that her shoulders ached like hell. She knew she was acting childish then and now she was going to have to face the consequences. But on the bright side, maybe it was best if she did die there. At least that way, she wouldn't have to deal with Jack and his antics. Perhaps, if she was lucky, she would be back in her own apartment, in her own bathtub, away from all this insanity.

She finally gave in, her body too weak to struggle. She closed her eyes and felt the water engulf her completely. She didn't hold her breath for air or tried to swim up as she continued to sink downwards. She just lay there, waiting for everything to end. She fell unconscious just as Jack appeared and grabbed her by the waist.

* * *

"Jack's got her! Pull men. Pull!" Will shouted as he grabbed the rope and helped Gibbs, Cotton and Pint pull on the rope. They struggled against the wind and the waves and thought of nothing but saving both Jack and Marine from certain death on the ocean. Jack held on to the rope with one hand as the crew pulled them back and wrapped the other around Marine's waist tightly. He noticed how frail and small Marine seemed to him now. Without her attitude, without any of her defenses up, she was as weak as a young child. Jack tightened his hold on both Marine and the rope and fought against the waves. 

When they brought Jack and Marine on deck the storm began to pass. The rain drizzled onto them now, the last of the effects slowly leaving their ship at peace. Jack gently laid Marine's head on his lap and tried to wake her up. Everyone else gathered around them and watched in silence.

"Marine. Marine love, open your eyes. Please tell me you're alright." He pleaded silently to himself. Jack placed his ear near the pirate's mouth and paled when there was no movement of air. He began to blow air into her mouth and push her chest, trying to push out the water she had swallowed. When he did that the first time they met Marine had immediately reacted and threw up the water onto the deck. But now Marine was as still as the dead.

"Wake up love! Tell me how annoying I am, how you want to kick me, slap me and punch me to no end. Nag me and tell me what a fool I've been for not taking your advice. Say something, anything!" He cried. The process of pushing air into Marine's lungs continued for quite a long while. The other men on the ship were looking worriedly at Marine, the nervous tension strong and thick in the air. To everyone's relief, Marine finally, forcefully coughed out water and groaned in pain. She was conscious; she could sense everything around her as if she had her eyes wide open. But she was so weak that she couldn't even lift a finger if she wanted to. Jack gently placed his hands behind her head and her knees and lifted her up easily.

"Get back to your stations men! I'll take care of the lass." He shouted. Marine didn't have the strength to fight back and let herself be carried into Jack's own cabin. Not that she didn't like that or was complaining about it. In fact, Marine felt comfortable lying there in the protective arms of the rugged pirate. Jack placed her down on the soft but large bed, took off her brown vest carefully then inspected her silently. Marine, who was beginning to recover by the minute, growing conscious of how close they were and how her shirt had clung to her body because of the water, revealing the whole form of her body and curves that wouldn't normally be seen.

"Are you alright love? Does anything hurt?" He asked, worry and concern clearly shown on his face. Marine couldn't understand why Jack was acting so worried but didn't ask him this. She shook her head and forced a small smile to appear on her face.

"I'm alright, nothing's wrong with me." She muttered softly. Then she looked straight into Jack's eyes and fought back the tears that were trying to fall, guilt and regret eating at her like mad. "Sparrow...Captain...I'm truly sorry about what I said earlier. I know I really offended you back then and I don't understand why you risked your own life just to save mine. If you were any normal pirate you would have left me there to die." She told him. Jack inched closer to her and brushed his hand against her cheek. Marine took a sharp intake of breath, her heart pounded rapidly inside of her at the slight touch.

"You're not dealing with any normal pirate love. You're dealing with Captain Jack Sparrow." He whispered softly, his breath mingling with Marine's. As she stared into Jack's eyes she felt herself drown in them. Breathing became a challenge, staying focused was nearly impossible. For some reason Marine simply wanted to stay there and stare into his eyes forever. She swallowed nervously, the action causing her throat to move. Jack saw the movement and stared at her with a strange spark flashing suddenly in his eyes. He slowly moved his hand from her cheek and placed it on Marine's shoulder to push her down into the bed. But as soon as his hand pushed Marine's arm she snapped from her daze and gave a short cry. Jack blinked, the spark disappearing from his eyes and he looked at Marine confusedly. He slowly and gently pulled up the long sleeve of Marine's shirt and frowned when he saw a large bruise forming on her shoulder.

"You said you weren't injured at all." He said. Marine forced a smile to appear on her lips.

"Guess I failed to mention that. It's alright really, you don't have to worry about it." She lied. Jack didn't fall for it and stood up from his bed to get something from the cabinets in his room. He pulled up a chair in front of Marine and set down the first aid kit beside her. He took the arm gently and inspected it. The bruise had a handprint form on it. Jack widened his eyes and pulled up the other sleeve.

"Just as I thought...these injuries weren't from falling from the ropes. These were from me..." He said. Another bruise in the form of a hand was forming on the opposite shoulder. Jack frowned even further and looked down on the floor in guilt.

"I'm so sorry love. I-I don't know what to think of this. I've been a fool. I was blinded by my own anger. And because of my stubborn self you almost died in that storm. I didn't know what I would have done if you did." He said softly. Marine's heart clenched at the sincerity of his words. She knew it should be impossible for the heart to pound out of her chest but at that moment it was exactly how she felt. Her mind whirled about, wondering if he was still acting or if his words were indeed true. Shaking her head slightly to remove the thoughts, she held Jack's chin and forced it to look up at her, giving him a small reassuring smile in return.

"It's alright. It was an accident and I tried to climb up the crow's nest during the storm so it was really my own fault. I'm not blaming you for this, it's done now and I'm still alive so don't worry. Please don't look so sad and depressed. I like you better when you're all happy and perky." She told him. When she realized what she said she blushed and looked away from him. Jack truly did grin when he heard this and whispered seductively into her ear.

"If you truly like it then I won't disappoint you further love." He was about to press his lips to hers when she placed a hand to his mouth and pushed away. Jack blinked and stared at her with his lips parted a little. Marine's smile disappeared and was replaced with a frown.

"No. If you're just going to sit there and flirt with me then leave so I can patch up my injuries myself." She told him. Jack sighed and grabbed an ointment from the kit and began to attend to her injuries.

"Honestly, you just take away all the fun in everything." He mumbled. Marine smiled in spite of herself and gave him a satisfying nod.

"It's what I do best to people who deserve it."

"I saved your life lass and you still piss me off to no end. The least you could do is show some respect to me." Jack grumbled angrily, stretching the bandage he was wrapping around her arm a bit too tight. Marine bit back a soft cry of pain and struggled to keep her face smooth. Jack saw the reaction though and winced. "Sorry love, I guess I got too carried away." Marine stared at him and poked him in the ribs with her free hand.

"Nah it's alright. And Captain...thanks." She said. Jack looked up at her in surprise then returned a genuine smile. Marine never thought she'd see the day Jack smiles sincerely but there it was. She felt the mood in the room lift up and was about to annoy her favorite pirate when they were interrupted by the sound of someone opening the door.

"Captain," Gibbs called, his head peeking through the doorway. When he saw that the two were looking at him expectantly he nodded upward. "We be needing you up on deck." Jack looked back at Marine and, satisfied at the bandages he wrapped, stood up and walked after Gibbs.

"Stay here and get some rest love. You've had a hard day." He said. Marine watched the door close behind Jack and settled under the covers of the large bed. She had to admit that Jack was right. She was dead tired after having struggled with the strong current and almost drowning to death because of it. Slowly but surely, the lids of her eyes began to fall down and before she knew it, she had fallen asleep.

* * *

Marine opened her eyes and woke up to a bright sunlight streaming through the windows in the captain's quarters. She stared up at the ceiling, not really in the mood to get up from the warm and comfy bed. She was about to go back to sleep when the door to the cabin opened and Jack came striding in with a tray of bread and jam. Marine propped herself up on the bed with her elbows and looked at him. Jack grinned when he saw that Marine was awake and set the tray on her lap. 

"Mornin' love, I brought you some breakfast." He said and sat down on the edge of the bed. Marine gave a short yawn before smiling back at him.

"Morning Sparrow." She took a piece of bread and was about to take a bite when a hand reached out and pulled it away from her. Marine blinked in stunned surprise and glared at Jack who held the piece of bread in his two fingers. "If you bring this tray of food all the way here, just to take it from me when I'm about to eat it, then what's the point of bringing it here in the first place?" She asked him rhetorically. He was wagging a finger at her while waving the bread from side to side at the same time.

"You have to address me properly if you want something to eat on me ship." Marine shrugged casually and crossed her arms at him.

"Fine. Then I won't eat."

"You can't not eat love! If you don't eat something, you get thinner. And if you get thinner to the point of looking like some stick of the sort, you won't look half as lovely as you do now. Then you'll become a weak little lass and you'd be pretty useless to me and my goal of getting me Pearl. Once that happens I'd have to sail you to a port and leave you there where you can either choose to continue not to eat or eat like a hungry demon for the rest of your life on some bar or tavern working as a waitress for food. Unless of course some bloke or other chooses to take you as his bony lass and give you all the riches you want in the world, which I'm sure would never happen because I am the only pirate who has the gall to grab every single treasure in this whole world." Marine stared dumbly at him as he rambled on then gave him an exasperated look.

"You could have just said 'You'll die of starvation' and be done with it." Jack grinned mischievously at her.

"But then it wouldn't make any sense."

"Yes it would! What word in 'You'll die of starvation' don't you understand?!"

"Everything?" Jack imitated her casual shrug, making Marine scoff at him.

"Idiot...but since we're gone past all these, why don't I take my bread and..." Jack jerked the hand with the bread back as Marine reached forward for it. She found herself looking right at Jack and struggled to breathe correctly. Jack on the other hand was grinning wider at her at the quick distance they've covered up within a minute.

"I don't think so love." He whispered. To Marine's ears Jack's voice sounded low, rough, and seductive. She swallowed the large lump in her throat that suddenly grew out of nowhere and retracted from the rogue pirate. When her heartbeat went back to its normal state she made a small pout and turned away from him with her arms crossed angrily. Minutes later a familiar piece of bread floated down to her vision. She looked at it but didn't take it. She tilted her head back and looked at Jack's face, which she viewed upside-down, suspiciously. Jack gave a defeated sigh and stuffed it into Marine's mouth without another thought. Marine widened her eyes and began spitting out the bread out. Jack grinned amusedly and stood up to leave before the female pirate could shout at him.

"Enjoy your meal. I expect you to stay put until I say you can leave that bed." He said. Marine stared and, when what Jack said registered in her mind, narrowed her eyes. She quickly stood up from the bed-putting aside the tray-and strode up to face Jack, putting herself between the door and the man.

"If you think I'm going to sit here like a humble, mild and meek little lass then you haven't met Sharpshooter Marine. I won't do anything strenuous if that's what you're worried about. I'm not so daft as you are that I'd ignore my own limitations. But the least you could do is let me walk around the ship like a free pirate instead of a captive being held in the cells." She told him. Jack glared at her and raised his arms up in exasperation.

"What does it take to get some authority here?!" He murmured half to himself. Marine heard him and grinned.

"You already have it. Just not with me." She commented then walked up ahead of him. Jack looked up to where Marine was going and shook his head, trying to hold in a smile that was slowly coming to his face. He followed Marine up the steps on deck and watched as they entered and passed through a dark and gloomy lagoon. Cotton, with the parrot perched on his shoulder cried out.

"Dead men tell no tales." Marine didn't like what she was looking at as they crossed pieces of what used to be parts of a ship strewn all over the place. There was a smell of death and corruption in the air and a chill breeze brushed through her skin and sent it shivering with anxiety. The rest of the crew were looking about as well, and Gibbs muttered softly to himself as he shook his head.

"Puts a chill in the bones how many honest sailors have been claimed by this passage." Will on the other hand had already moved on to watch Jack close his compass as Cotton stared at him in an uncomfortable glance. He looked at the compass itself, questions kept running through his head about the mysterious Jack Sparrow, and looked at Gibbs.

"How is it that Jack came by that compass?" He asked. Gibbs looked at him and contemplated on whether to answer or not. Marine was standing close by them at the time and leaned a bit closer to listen to what they were saying.

"Not a lot's known about Jack Sparrow before he showed up in Tortuga with a mind to go after the treasure of the Isla de Muerta. That was before I met him, back when he was Captain of the Black Pearl." Will widened his eyes and stared at Jack who was busy steering the wheel to notice. Marine smiled to herself, and wondered how Jack himself would react when she told him she knew who had given the compass to him and how he had gotten his hands on the Black Pearl itself.

"What? He failed to mention that."

"Well, he plays things closer to the vest now. And a hard-learned lesson it was. See three days out on the venture the first mate comes to him and says everything's an equal share. That should mean the location of the treasure, too, so Jack gives up the bearings. That night there was a mutiny. They marooned Jack on an island and left him to die but not before he'd gone mad with the heat." Will looked at Gibbs in understanding.

"Ah. So that's the reason for all the..." At this he made a messy attempt at wobbling as if drunk just like Jack always does when he stood on land. Marine had to choke from the laughter she tried to hold in. No one but Jack himself could act like Captain Jack Sparrow in smooth perfection. It was simply not possible. Gibbs looked at him strangely before replying.

"Reason's got nothing to do with it. Now Will, when a man is marooned he is a given a pistol with a single shot - one shot. Well it won't do much good hunting or to be rescued. But after three weeks of a starvin' belly and thirst, that pistol will start to look real friendly. But Jack - he escaped the island, and he still has that one shot. Oh, but he won't use it, though, save for one man. His mutinous first mate." Will frowned and whispered the name that was now dreaded all across the Caribbean Seas, the present captain of the cursed Black Pearl, the man who has his beloved Elizabeth wrapped tightly in his murderous hands.

"Barbossa." Gibbs nodded grimly.

"Aye."

"How did Sparrow get off the island?" Marine asked, interrupting the men's conversation. She knew she wasn't supposed to do it, but she couldn't help but join in their discussion. To her, it was amusing, watching them say lines that she herself had come to know and remember. Gibbs looked startled at first, but he seemed to like the attention and went on with his telling.

"Well, I'll tell ye two. He waded out into the shallows and there he waited three days and three nights till all manner of sea creature came and acclimated to his presence. And on the fourth morning, he roped himself a couple of sea turtles, lashed 'em together and made a raft."

"He roped a couple of sea turtles?" Will stated, looking bewilderedly at Gibbs. Marine still could not believe anyone could come up with a story like that and had a grin on her face. Oh if only they knew what she did, if only she was willing to destroy a good movie to see what everyone's reactions would be to her knowing the true story of how Jack Sparrow escaped the island. The temptation was strong, but she held back and stood there, watching Gibbs nod to Will in confirmation.

"Aye, sea turtles."

"What did he use for rope?"

"Human hair." Will, Marine and Gibbs jumped slightly in shock and turned to find Jack Sparrow himself standing before them. No one was steering the wheel now, and it had been empty for quite a while. Marine never noticed Jack coming up to them after being so amused and entertained with their discussion that she scolded herself for not keeping up her guard. Jack looked from one to the other before continuing. "From me back."

"And if that runs out what then Sparrow?" Marine asked him curiously. Jack stared at her, an eyebrow raised in curiosity as he sensed the knowing-ness in her eyes. But instead of answering her, he turned his attentions to the men on the ship. "Let go of the anchor!" He shouted to the crew.

"Let go of the anchor, sir!" One of the crewmen replied in equal volumes. Everyone began running about on the deck, pulling ropes, releasing ropes, pulling levers and the like. When Jack was satisfied that the crew was going to move quickly without his needing to provoke them, he turned his glance to Gibbs once more.

"Young Mr. Turner and I are to go ashore."

"What about me?!" Marine cried. Jack glared at her and began attacking her with words before she could open her mouth again and come back at him with a retort or a interjection.

"You are going to stay here whether you like it or not which I am sure you don't. But even so, I want you within sight of this ship as long as Turner and I are inside those caves. You can whine and debate all you like lass but I won't let you come along with me and be a burden with those injuries on your shoulders. I know that I inflicted them on you but it doesn't give you any reason to go on hurting yourself like a fool. So you are to stay here and keep an eye on everything while I go there and face whatever it is that's there. I want to see your face when I get back on this ship is that clear pirate?" He asked her in a demanding tone. Marine returned the glare.

"That would be well and all CAPTAIN except for one tiny little point that you missed out." She replied. Before Jack could open his mouth she continued. "And that is that I will still be going with you whether you like it or not. It is better for you to have two more pairs of eyes than one, and knowing you, you'll get yourself into even bigger trouble than you already are in." She replied.

"If you want me to use another pair of eyes I'll take someone with me. But you're still not coming!" He shouted angrily.

"Why don't you try fighting with me and see if I won't be able to take care of myself there." She answered in a much calmer tone. Jack looked at her considerably. He actually considered fighting her just to see if she was telling the truth. Will though was standing there behind him impatiently, the aura in him emitting around the ship. The pirate gave a frustrated sigh and waved a hand in concede.

"Fine ye can come along lass." Marine smiled triumphantly and followed the two of them as they prepared to go down the ladder to a small rowboat prepared for them.

"Captain!" Gibbs cried as he leaned over the railings and looked down on them. "What if the worst should happen?" Jack fell silent at first, and even Marine's cheerfulness for her victory vanished into thin air. Will stared from one to the other, clearly not understanding and clearly wanting to know what it was about. Jack looked up at his first mate and answered in one of his most calming and cool tones.

"Keep to the code." A grim smile came to Gibbs' face and he nodded, repeating to himself what Jack had already told him.

"Aye, the code." Jack released the ropes that were tied to the boat and taking the oars from Will, begun rowing together with the blacksmith into the opening of the cave, into the depths of Isla de Muerta. Marine's stomach churrned at the thought that she was actually going into danger. But she hid back her worries and looked at Jack smugly. She was not going to let the man tell her how he was right that she shouldn't have come. She was going to prove to him instead that he was right in letting her come with him.


	4. Chapter 4

**AN: **Once again, I thank those people who are kind enough to review me. XD Please keep reading and please review me!

* * *

**Chapter 4**

As Jack, Marine and Will sat on the boat in silence, Will kept thinking of what Jack had told Gibbs earlier before they had set off into the caves. He looked around, trying to divert his attention from it, when he saw a skull in the water and couldn't take it anymore. He looked at Jack, who was staring at nothing in an aloof manner, then at Marine, who was doing pretty much the same, making quick glances at Jack from time to time. It didn't take much for Will to deduce that the pirate had grown attached to Jack Sparrow. Certainly the man has his charms and a face to back him up. He wondered where that feeling was going to get her and if Jack could actually love another aside from his ship and the sea. Marine had become a good friend to Will and he wished the best for her.

"What's wrong Will? Why aren't you rowing any longer?" Marine asked him worriedly. "Do you want me to take a turn? I can do it." She said, glancing at Jack determinedly, the statement obviously directed at the pirate. Whether Jack saw it or not, he ignored Marine and muttered inaudible words to himself. Will realized that as his mind wandered off he had stopped moving his arms and so began to row once more, giving a reassuring smile at Marine and shaking his head in answer to her question. Then he looked at Jack.

"What Code is Gibbs to keep to if the worst should happen?" The pirate stared at him for a few moments before answering, the rhythm of his rowing never missing a beat. Marine was impressed at that.

"Pirate's Code. Any man that falls behind...is left behind." Will gave a short snort then looked down in the water once more, now catching a glint of gold here and there. It was then when he realized that the whole coral reef was filled with treasures.

"No heroes amongst thieves, eh?"

"You know, for having such a bleak outlook on pirates you're well on your way to becoming one." Jack told him, holding out his hand to count off the things he told Will. "Sprung a man and a woman from jail, commandeered a ship of the Fleet, sailed with a buccaneer crew out of Tortuga." He looked down at the water where Will was looking and added, "and you're completely obsessed with treasure."

"That's not true. I am not obsessed with treasure." Will answered indignantly. Marine gave a soft yet sarcastic laugh as she splashed the surface of the water, making ripples and distorting the image of the gold under the water.

"Not all treasure is silver and gold, mate." She muttered. It was part of the lines in the movie, but she had heard it somewhere else as well. The quote was certainly true, in both good ways and bad ways. She glanced once more at Jack then shook her head and chuckled softly in amusement. Will looked at her in a confused manner, wondering to himself what Marine was thinking to have such an expression on her face at a time like the one they were in now. Jack kept quiet the rest of the way, and straightened up when he caught sight of the near land.

"We're almost there..." He whispered. "Better prepare yourselves." Will looked at the same direction, both nervously and eagerly at the same time. Marine was glad that Will kept himself under control as they silently placed the boat to the side and began walking towards a small flicker of light. Marine and Will followed Jack's usual, staggering form and stopped when they saw the gathering of men before the highest pile of treasures with the chest on the very top and Barbossa and Elizabeth before it.

"Gentlemen, the time has come! Our salvation is nigh! Our torment is near at end." The man announced to his whole crew. Everyone was busy staring at Barbossa and Elizabeth as the three slowly and silently walked past the pirates, making it easier for them to get nearer without getting caught.

"Elizabeth." Will whispered in a mix of worry and relief. The young blond haired woman was standing beside Barbossa who had his hands firmly gripped on her wrist.

"For ten years we've been tested and tried, and each man jack of you here has proved his mettle a hundred times over and a hundred times again!" Barbossa continued. Marine turned around to face Will, who was staring dumbly at the scene before him, and gestured impatiently at him as she followed Jack over some of the piles of gold.

"Suffered, I have." A pirate named Ragetti shouted.

"Punished, we were." Barbossa continued, looking around at his men, missing sight of the three as they ran behind a wall and scrambled up to the edge of a certain pile of gold to watch from an unseen view. "The lot of us - disproportionate to our crimes! Here it is," He used his feet to kick the lid off from the chest, gold glittering brightly under flaming torches. "...the cursed treasure of Cortés himself. Every last piece that went astray, we have returned...save for this." With his free hand he took off the medallion on Elizabeth's neck and lifted it up for everyone to see. As the speech went on, Will couldn't stand waiting any longer and stood up. Some of the treasure fell to the floor from the top pile, making some soft crashing noise. Marine winced at that and grumbled something about "impatient idiots".

"Jack!" Will whispered. Before he could say more, the pirate pulled him back beside himself.

"Not yet. We wait for the opportune moment." He whispered back.

"881 we found but despaired of ever finding the last." Barbossa's voice was loud, but not loud enough for Jack not to hear Will's own voice.

"When's that? When it's of greatest profit to you?" Jack gave a frustrated sigh and turned his face to Will's intently.

"May I ask you something? Have I ever given you reason not to trust me?" Will opened his mouth but nothing came out. Jack used this as a signal to go on. "Do us a favor - I know it's difficult for you, but please stay here and try not to do anything stupid." He said in a pleading tone. Marine turned her gaze to the two as Jack stood up and silently went nearer to another pile in front of them, closer to Barbossa and his men. She knew she wasn't supposed to interfere but she was worried about Jack and walked closer to him as Will moved away-to get the oar to hit Jack most likely.

"And who among us has paid the blood sacrifice owed to the heathen gods?" Barbossa shouted in question to his men. Every crewmen of his raised whatever they had in their hands in the air and answered in a loud deafening roar.

"Us!"

"And whose blood must yet be paid?" They all pointed to Elizabeth who watched them all in an impressive calm.

"Hers!"

"You know the first thing I'm goin' to do after the curse is lifted? Eat a whole bushel of apples." At that he took out a knife and held out Elizabeth's arm under the chest. "Begun by blood...by blood undone." Marine saw Will coming closer with the said oar in hand and ran to Jack just in time to push him away before the oar came into contact. That caused a loud crack that echoed throughout the cave as it connected hard with the walls of the cave and interrupted the pirates, especially Barbossa, with their ceremony. The pirates looked towards the pile where the three were and raised their guns.

"Who dares enter and interrupt Captain Barbossa?" Barbossa demanded angrily. Marine glared at the two of them while rubbing her bruises painfully, as if telling them that it was all their fault-which it actually is-and stood up with her hands raised up in surrender.

"I do."

"And who might you be lass?" Barbossa asked, raising an eyebrow suspiciously at her. The other pirates were still pointing their guns at her as she moved closer to them; away from where Jack and Will still lay. Twiggs and Koehler widened their eyes when they saw who it was.

"Hey, isn't that the wench with Jack back at the dungeons in that town?"

"Yeah you're right! She is!"

"I'm no wench you blind, blundering fishheads!" Marine spat at them angrily. Before any of them could speak, she stood up straighter, her back as stiff as a board, and stared at the pirates in defiance, Barbossa in particular.

"My name is Sharpshooter Marine and it would be best for all of you if you never forget it." Barbossa's eyes widened as he recognized the name and gave a soft chuckle.

"Marine, ah now I remember. That infamous woman who has an accuracy as sharp as my blade is sharp. Bring her to me!" He ordered. Two of the pirates walked up to Marine and dragged her towards Barbossa by the hand. Marine made no move to struggle and casually walked together with her captors. Jack was frowning as he watched Marine walk towards the pirate and growled angrily when he caught sight of some of the men eyeing her in a perverted way. He gripped the hilt of his sword in his hand so tightly that his knuckles were turning white. And because he was so focused on what he was looking at, he never noticed Will coming up to him with the oar once more and hitting him on the head with a loud thunk. The pirate fell down in a heap and lay there unconscious as Will threw away his weapon.

"Sorry, Jack. I'm not going to be your leverage." He murmured and began to move closer to where Elizabeth was. While everyone was up and about their own little business, Barbossa turned his attention to Elizabeth and without a word, made a small cut in her palm. Blood oozed out from it and slowly dripped from the surface of her palm to the medallion he placed on her hand. Elizabeth looked at Barbossa incredulously, not believing that it would be that quick.

"That's it?" She asked.

"Waste not." The man replied with a sarcastic smile and dropped the medallion into the pile of gold. The pirates all tensed in anticipation, waiting for something to happen to them. When nothing occurred, they looked at each other and inspected themselves, trying to see if the curse that came on them had been lifted.

"Did it work?" The pirate named Koehler asked to no one in particular as he looked at his own hands. Ragetti looked at him and shook his head.

"I don't feel no different."

"How do we tell?" Pintel asked out loud. Without another word Barbossa took out his gun from his holster belt and shot him on the chest. Marine jumped in surprise at the sound of the gun but looked casually at the rest who paled in fear. The pirate named Pintel looked down to find a small hole decorating his shirt and turned his gaze to the others in both fear and anxiety.

"You're not dead." Koehler commented, not knowing whether to be happy about that or sad. Pintel looked scandalized and indignant as what Barbossa had actually done to him began to sink into his mind.

"No. He shot me!"

"It didn't work." Ragetti cried angrily. Others began murmuring to themselves, most of them in anger.

"The curse it still upon us!" Barbossa grabbed Elizabeth and stared at her intently, his face inches from hers.

"You, maid! Your father, what was his name? Was your father William Turner?" The young woman shook her head at him, looking at Barbossa in both fear and disgust.

"No."

"Where's his child? The child that sailed from England eight years ago, the child in whose veins flows the blood of William Turner. Where?" He shouted as he slapped her face with the back of his hand in anger. Elizabeth gave a short cry as she fell down from the pile, hidden away from any eyes that were there. Marine openly laughed aloud as she glanced at Barbossa in satisfied contempt.

"So much for eating apples eh Barbossa?" The large, bald and dark man turned his glare at both Pintel and Ragetti, who had brought Elizabeth into the ship when they were in Port Royal.

"You two! You brought us the wrong person!"

"No! She had the medallion. she's the proper age." Pintel cried fearfully in defense for himself. His partner, Ragetti nodded vigorously in agreement.

"She said her name was Turner - you heard her!" He looked at the pirates surrounding him, trying to find anyone who would side with him. While they were arguing with each other, Will had swam towards Elizabeth and held her shoulder. Elizabeth, whose eyes were closed at the time, widened them and opened her mouth to scream but was stopped when Will placed a hand to her mouth. He pressed a finger to his lips in silence and motioned for her to follow him into the water. As he sunk deep into the water, Elizabeth saw the shiny medallion lying near her and took it before going after the blacksmith. "I think she lied to us." Ragetti finished.

"You brought us here for nothing." One shouted accusingly at Barbossa.

"I won't take questioning and no second guesses, not from the likes of you, Master Twigg." The captain replied to his man in a calm but dangerous tone.

"Who's to blame? Every decision you've made has led us from bad to worse." Koehler added in agreement to what the man named Twigg had said.

"It was you who sent Bootstrap to the depths!"

"And it's you who brought us here in the first place." Slowly, more and more of the pirates began to look at Barbossa in a new light. If Marine didn't know any better, some of them even had some sort of regret building up in their expressions. Whether for agreeing with Barbossa to do mutiny on Jack or for not killing Barbossa themselves, Marine could never tell.

"If any coward here dare challenge me, let him speak! Hmm?" He asked, looking from one pirate to the other. None of them uttered a word, in fear that only they would speak up.

"I guess none of your men are as much under your control as you think they are." Marine commented with a smug look on her face.

"Keep your lovely mouth shut lass or you won't speak another word for the rest of your life." Barbossa threatened at her angrily. Marine narrowed her eyes at him but kept her mouth shut. It was pointless to say anything when she knew he had the upper hand.

"I say, we cut her throat and spill all her blood, just in case." Koehler said, speaking of Elizabeth obviously. As if they only remembered the other captive they had, Barbossa looked down to where he had sent her falling and growled in anger when no one was there. His pet monkey on the other hand was jumping up and down furiously and was pointing towards the exit, where Will and Elizabeth would have gone off to. Barbossa's face turned red as he looked at his men and shouted angrily at the top of his lungs.

"The medallion! She's taken it! Get after her! You feckless pack of ingrates!" Everyone except Barbossa and two pirates began running as fast as they could towards their own boats and looked around in confusion when they couldn't find any oars anywhere. Marine smiled as she watched them all scattered about in a panic.

"No oars here. Where's the oars?"

"The oars have gone missing. Find them!"

"Oh they're not that far." Marine said, bringing the pirate's attention to her. "As long as you take a deep breath and find them in the dark waters below, I'm sure you'll get them all within the day." She said, her smile widening more at the reactions from the pirates. Barbossa walked up to her, brought her face inches from his own and growled.

"And how would you know that?" He asked. Marine shrugged in reply.

"I saw them." She lied. It wouldn't be a good idea to tell them all that she knew everything that was going to happen to them, especially the fact that Barbossa was going to be killed by Jack. "They were pretty easy to spot thought, if you had eyes and a brain you would have found them too." She told him. Barbossa narrowed his eyes at her and a maniacal, cruel smile came to his face.

"At close up even I would agree that you have a very pretty face there lass. I wonder if you'll still look so smug and knowing after my men are through with you. I'm sure whether cursed or not they would love to taste and feel the soft and smooth flesh you have. How about it boys? Do I hand her over in your care or would you allow me a bit of fun first before you all take your turn with her?" He asked to no one in particular. Some of the pirates shouted, hooted and whistled excitedly as they all looked hungrily at Marine. One of the pirates who held her even had the courage to place his hands on her body and rub the inside of her shirt. Marine tried to struggle and scream as loud as she could but the thought of getting her had somehow energized the men. Not to mention that her injuries were keeping her from giving her full potential in her struggles. All of a sudden a bang echoed throughout the cave and halted everybody in their movements. They turned around to see Jack Sparrow standing beside one of the pirates, a gun in his hands. The pirate looked down on himself and realized that it was his gun Jack had a bit too late.

"Let the lass go." He demanded from Barbossa in a cold yet angry tone. The hand that held the gun was shaking not in fear but in anger, his eyes were burning intensely, just as frightening as the time he had stared at Marine back at the ship. Most of those near him didn't see the signs, yet they could sense the aura of his anger as large as the ocean and backed away cautiously. Barbossa stared back at Jack with equal vigor, the static in their rivalry and their hostility sparking to life and suffocating everyone in the cave, making them all tense up. The tension was so solid that Marine thought she could cut it easily in half with a knife. She reminded herself that this was the first time Jack stood face to face with Barbossa after 10 years. It was not surprising that he'd look at his nemesis with so much hatred and with so much desire for revenge.

The pirate who had his hands on Marine was nursing a bullet hole right in the middle of his forehead but had moved away from Marine as if she was the one who had the gun pointed at him. Ragetti widened his eyes and stepped back from Jack, pointing a shaky finger at him in fear and shock.

"You!" He cried. Marine at the time had stepped away from most of the pirates, relief flooding in her eyes. But she looked at Jack silently, a thousand questions etched on her face. Jack took no heed of her and continued his little staring contest with Barbossa.

"You're supposed to be dead!" Pintel cried in agreement to Ragetti. All of a sudden, at the pirate's cry, the passion of hate in Jack's eyes disappeared and he stared at Pintel as aloof, cool, and casual as he always was. His face showed no sign of the feelings he had revealed a while ago, as if it never happened.

"Am I not?" He asked and looked down at himself as if he really wasn't sure. When he found that he was still alive, he looked up and gave a casual "Oh." Immediately pistols were pointed at him, giving him no chance to defend himself with the one he held in his hand. Marine looked at him with worry clearly etched on her face and was about to open her mouth to say something-anything to get their attention away from Jack-when Jack begun to mutter aloud to himself.

"Palulay...palu-li-la-la-lulu, parlili... parsnip, pasley, par - partner, partner..." Marine widened her eyes and could hardly hide her laughter as Jack fumbled for the words he wanted to say. Sometimes she wondered if Jack really was stupid or was just simply trying to look like a fool to catch his enemies off guard. She figured it was the latter, having seen him at his very best which was something even she couldn't believe if she hadn't seen it. The pirates, with their pistols still pointed at him, looked at each other in confusion until Ragetti answered Jack.

"Parley?"

"Parley!" Jack cried, waving a hand at all of them and acting as if he had remembered the term himself. "That's the one. Parley! Parley for me an' the lass over there!" Pintel, who was beside Ragetti had a look of disbelief on his face.

"Parley? Down to the depths whatever man that thought up 'parley!'"

"That would be the French." Jack told him with a goofy grin on his face. Barbossa looked at Jack now with suspicion in his eyes.

"How the blazes did you get off that island?" He asked him. Jack took a step closer to Barbossa with a mysterious grin on his face.

"When you marooned me on that godforsaken spit of land, you forgot one very important thing, mate. I'm Captain Jack Sparrow." He made a grand gesture with his hands, arms open wide as if presenting himself to them for the first time while swaying about in that usual manner of his. He looked a bit curiously and strangely at Marine, who had mouthed the lines while imitating Jack at the same time he himself said the lines and didn't realize that the pirate had seen her do them.

"Ah, well, I won't be making that mistake again. Gents, you all remember Captain Jack Sparrow? Kill him." At his command weapons came out of sheaths and holsters and were all pointed at him. Barbossa had turned around and grabbed Marine's wrist, dragging her along with him away from the place. Marine looked at Jack worriedly and tried to get her wrist free of the pirate's hold. He wasn't going to die there, but seeing him surrounded by weapons from all of his enemies did not help soothe her worries at all. Barbossa ignored her and everything else until he heard Jack's voice and stopped in his tracks.

"The girl's blood didn't work, did it?"

"Hold your fire!" Barbossa shouted, turning around to face Jack as the pirates reluctantly lowered their weapons. He looked at him for a while, before raising an eyebrow in curiosity. "You know whose blood we need?" He asked. Jack had a mischievous grin on his face as he waved his hands about for no reason at all.

"I know whose blood ye need."

* * *

Marine found herself in the Captain's cabin of the Black Pearl together with Jack and Barbossa. Surprisingly they took all of her weapons except for the daggers still hidden among her clothes. But then again even Marine knew that it was pointless to try and fight her way against everyone on the ship. Not to mention that her shoulders were still aching a bit from the injury she got. At first Barbossa didn't want to let Marine go into his cabin but when Jack made it clear that Marine was "his precious bony lass" and that he wouldn't go anywhere without her, Barbossa conceded. He had even murmured something insulting about it; a few words such as "wench" and "pathetic pirate" could be picked out by anyone close to him. And that was how Marine found herself sitting on Jack's lap, pretending to be madly, idiotically in love with the pirate. Marine was furious at Jack, but it was either being stuck in the cells or going along with Jack's made up story and getting a chance to listen to the conversation. She would deal with the little problems as much as she could then. But she was not having any success at that, not when she actually enjoyed having the handsome pirate hold her in his arms so comfortably. Though when he tried to touch her she slapped his arm away and gave him a warning glare while Barbossa wasn't looking at them. Presently Barbossa was sitting on his chair and looking at Jack incredulously after hearing a proposition from the pirate. 

"So you expect to leave me standing on some beach with nothing but a name and your word it's the one I need and watch you sail away in my ship?" He stated rather than asked.

"No. I expect to leave you standing on some beach with absolutely no name at all, watching me sail away on my ship and then I'll shout the name back to you. Savvy?" Jack replied, his hands waving about as he spoke to Barbossa.

"But that still leaves us with the problem of me standing on some beach with naught but a name and your word it's the one I need."

"Of the two of us, I am the only one who hasn't committed mutiny, therefore...my word is the one we'll be trusting. Although...I suppose I should be thanking you because, in fact, if you hadn't betrayed me and left me to die, I would have an equal share in that curse, same as you." He took an apple from a basket on the table and bit into it. "Funny ol' world, innit?" At the comment he chuckled softly then offered Barbossa the apple. Marine sighed to herself while shaking her head in disbelief at the same time. The large, dark and bald man entered the cabin and looked at Barbossa.

"Captain, we're coming up on the Interceptor." As soon as the pirate was outside, Barbossa followed. Jack pushed Marine out of his lap and followed him up. Marine grumbled at being treated like some toy or some pet yet had no choice but to follow the rest up on deck. She watched as Jack moved in front of Barbossa while the man was looking at his looking glass, blocking the man's view of the Interceptor.

"I'm having a thought here, Barbossa. What say we run up a flag of truce? I scurry over to the Interceptor, and I negotiate the return of your medallion, eh? What say you to that?" He suggested. Barbossa smiled sardonically at him.

"Now you see, Jack, that's exactly the attitude that lost you the Pearl. People are easy to search when they're dead." Ignoring Jack's look of defeat, he took the apple from his hand and looked at the large man. "Lock him and the lass in the brig. I'm sure they'll find something to do before I send them to their deaths." As Bo'sun, the name of the large pirate, led them away, Barbossa glanced at the apple in his hand and threw it away in annoyance. Soon, soon he would taste the juicy fluids and the wonderful flavor of apples. Very soon indeed. Once the three were far from the pirate's earshot, Marine glanced at Jack and gave him an encouraging smile.

"Don't believe a word that arrogant fool says Sparrow. I think it's one of your best qualities." She said. Jack looked up at her in surprise and gave another grateful, truly sincere smile in return that made Marine blush slightly. Bo'sun ignored the two of them and as soon as he brought them to the cells, pushed them both into one cell and locked it. The water was up to their ankles, the water sloshing about as the boat swayed from side to side. Once Bo'sun was gone Jack grimaced at the sight of the brig and looked at Marine.

"Apparently there's a leak."

"Apparently." Marine repeated in a more sarcastic tone as she looked about. It was dark, cold and wet, even worse than the cell she was placed back in Port Royal. She walked up to the bars, to where the lock was, and fingered it absently as she stared off into the distance.

"I've never been inside a cell twice in less than a week before this..." She said to herself. A gloomy, depressing kind of cloud had suddenly come down upon her. Now that she thought about it, she had never been in a cell before, some parts of her memories as Marine were a bit vague, but what she really thought about was her life as Vanessa Silvestre. How long had she been gone from her own time? Were Carrie and her foster parents looking for her right then and there? Did they even remember her at all? Did she still exist where they were then? As much as she hated to admit it, a part of her began to miss her old life. It wasn't that exciting but it wasn't dangerous as well.

"Look love, if you're upset about what happened back there don't be." Jack said, shattering her inner thoughts and making her blink at him. "It was just all acting, to keep the crew from touching you. I mean you're not really like them-I mean, you are a lass but you're not like the rest of the lass I...the ones back at Tortuga." Marine just continued to stare at him in silence as he fumbled for words for what Marine mused as the first time. "What? No answer?" He asked after giving up on saying it all out. She raised an eyebrow at him and turned to look at the bars again.

"I'm not upset over that. I'm not that stupid not to understand what you were trying to do."

"Then why're you acting all depressed love? Is there something that o'l Jack can do to comfort you?" He asked, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively. Marine sighed in frustration and leaned her head on the icy cool bars.

"I was just thinking of something...can't seem to get it out of my mind now." She answered him after what seemed like hours. She had assumed that Jack had decided to stop pestering her when nothing happened but a few more minutes later Marine found herself being pulled back from the bars by strong arms around her waist. She turned around to shout at him and immediately regretted doing it when she found herself inches away from Jack's face. His dark brown eyes on her were like quicksand, quickly capturing her and drowning her in a deep, hypnotic trance. Words disappeared from her mind and her mouth all of a sudden became as dry as sand. Her hands were on Jack's muscular shoulders-her brain trying to tell her to push him away-and they held onto him like the roots of a tree. Jack caught sight of Marine's cheeks as they slowly reddened and grinned at her.

"Have no fear, I can remedy that easily." He told her seductively. Marine looked at him in disbelief and had the gall to laugh. surprising Jack in more ways than one.

"I doubt you or anyone else could." She answered him, glad that her voice still sounded calm and strong. Jack looked at her and pushed his face even closer to hers, making Marine's heart pound hard in her chest and butterflies in her stomach to appear and flutter around in a frenzy. She attempted to move back but the pirate only moved along with her until her back hit the bars and pinned her to Jack. She gave a small wince at the shot of pain that came up in her arms but she managed not to let Jack see them. The pirate was still looking at her, the desire evident in his dark eyes.

"Is that a challenge I hear from you love?" He whispered, sending chills down her spine. "I love to rise up to a challenge. And win." Marine found no chance to answer back Jack as his lips met hers in a soft and gentle kiss. As soon as she felt his lips her mind went completely blank. She couldn't think of anything else but her, Jack, and that wonderful moment. She noticed the way his lips tasted, the way his strong and warm hands caressed her so gently; fingers sending shocking jolts through her body. She felt the way his body pulsed as she held his shoulders-probably to keep herself from falling to the ground-and she especially noticed his unique scent. That mixture of the sea, rum, and himself which made her feel so lightheaded, so safe and carefree. She felt the kiss deepen and grow more passionate at every passing minute, her heart racing faster and faster until she felt like exploding in a million fireworks.

Marine felt all of her strength fluttering away with the wind as Jack slowly pulled back away from her. She realized to her embarrassment that if it wasn't for Jack she would have been on the ground by now looking as flushed as she was then. His arms were the only thing holding her up; the feel of his warm and gentle hands on her body making the butterflies in her stomach do backflips and somersaults. She was still trying to put oxygen back into her lungs so she just silently stared at Jack who still had that grin on his face.

"So...did I prove you wrong?" He asked with a tone of satisfaction in his voice. Marine didn't answer right away; trying to get her mouth to open and speak was as much as her strength could handle at the time. Her mind was working overdrive, as if all her thoughts and emotions were being blended to a smooth but messy substance. Finally she gathered all of her strength and pushed Jack away from her.

"Get away from me!" Jack stumbled back and held on to the bars to keep himself from falling down. He was about to open his mouth, his gaze to Marine a mask of pure shock and confusion. But before any of them could speak, something large crashed onto their cell and sent the two of them flying back from the force. Jack was the first one to recover and widened his eyes when he saw the large hole in the hull. He then turned his direction to where the blow came from and raised his fist in anger.

"Stop blowing holes in my ship!" Marine was the first one to take note of the cell door, having known what was going to happen and rushed to it to leave both the cell and Jack. The pirate crouched down when he saw Gibb's canteen and checked to see if it was empty. He frowned when there was nothing inside and noticed that Marine was gone. He saw the open door and eagerly climbed out as well. Cheerfully, Jack popped his head on deck to see his former crew and his new crew fighting against each other. Upon further search he saw Marine on the Interceptor, slashing one pirate after another with a partial yet manageable difficulty. She was being outnumbered greatly and he knew her injury wasn't all that healed, but he was relieved to find her going through all sorts of dirty tricks to get her way. He ran near the railings and grabbed the rope from a pirate who had fallen down to the sea. Jack adjusted himself then swung over to the other side, to Marine's side.

He landed in between a fight and was forced to take a sword from an enemy and slam it to another. Gibbs got up from where he was and widened his eyes when he saw his captain. "Jack!" The captain on the other hand handed the empty canteen to him.

"Bloody empty." And with that, he disappeared into the chaos. Gibbs held on to the canteen confusedly but saw more men coming to him and began to fight with them. Jack looked for Elizabeth and found her trying to fend off some pirates. He knocked them over the ship and turned just in time to stop Elizabeth from running a sword through him.

"That's not very nice. Where's the medallion?" He asked. Elizabeth glared at him and tried to slap him angrily.

"Wretch!" Jack grabbed her wrist before they could hit him and took note of the bandage on her hand. He realized something and grinned at Elizabeth.

"Ahh. Where's dear William?"

"Will..." Worriedly, Elizabeth swiveled her head around and saw him trapped under a grate. She widened her eyes and began running to him. "Will!" Jack was about to go after her when he saw the monkey walking towards the Black Pearl with the gold medallion in hand.

"Monkey!" He chased the monkey, crossing the pole that had been thrown across the ships for passage, and was about to go to the other ship when he saw boots in front of him. He looked up and saw Barbossa standing before him with the monkey on his shoulder.

"Why, thank you, Jack." Barbossa said. Jack made a grim face and sarcastically smiled back.

"You're welcome."

"Not you. We named the monkey Jack." He said. Jack's face fell as he was taken away by the crew. Barbossa held up the medallion for everyone to see and shouted with victory. "Gents, our hope is restored!"

Marine on the other hand was still fighting when she heard Elizabeth's scream for Will and turned around to find her looking down at something. She cursed to herself and ran over to her, grabbing her arm and pulling her away.

"Calm down Elizabeth! You mustn't stay there or else the pirates will grab you. Keep fending them off. I'll see what I can do." She told her. Elizabeth looked at Marine in surprise and in confusion but something told the young lady to do as the pirate said. She managed a weak nod and walked away from the grate leaving all her trust to the female pirate whom she hadn't even met yet. Marine kneeled down and peered into the holes to see Will gasping for breath.

"Will! Can you hear me? It's me, Marine. Keep a calm head and don't worry. You have to survive this. You WILL survive this." She shouted to him. "Look for a way out. I don't know where it is, but it's there somewhere. Dive and search!" Will nodded to her and went down underwater. Marine continued to kneel there, worried for Will's sake, and never noticed the pirate who went up behind her and knocked her down with a club.

* * *

"So much for trying to help them out..." Marine mumbled to herself as she stood at the Black Pearl together with Jack and the presently tied-up crew, rubbing the back of her head in pain. Pintel looked at all of them and raised his gun threateningly. 

"If any of you as much as thinks the word "parley," I'll have your guts for garters." Marine looked at him curiously.

"How would you know if we're thinking of it or not? I mean, if one of us is thinking of parley right now you wouldn't know who it was and when they thought of it. Since you yourself said it then you must be thinking of the word parley. That means you have to fish out your own guts because that's what you'd do to anyone who thinks of the word parley. And now that I think about it, since you mentioned it, everyone would most likely think of that word now. You'll have to gut each and every one of us here on board." She said. Pintel stared at her while Jack grinned with amusement. Elizabeth ran up to Barbossa angrily and was trying to get him to stop when the ship exploded into little bits. She could only stare in shock and disbelief and felt her knees grow weak. Captain Barbossa grinned at the young lady as he held her hand in a tight grip.

"Welcome back, Miss. You took advantage of our hospitality last time. It holds fair now that you return the favor." He pushed her to the crew without another word and watched as they held her and began playing with her. Marine gritted her teeth and tried to charge at them when she felt Jack's gentle hands on her. She glared at him for a few minutes then sighed in defeat as the pirate stared back at her intently and commandingly. She knew when to make fun of Jack and she knew when it was time to actually take the pirate seriously with his orders. Elizabeth screamed and tried to escape their grips but they were too strong for her. Marine closed her eyes, a small relieved smile appearing on her lips, as she heard the familiar voice of Will Turner.

"Barbossa" Will shouted. Everyone turned to the direction of the voice and saw a very drenched blacksmith standing on the railings of the Black Pearl, trying to catch his breath. Elizabeth widened her eyes and gave a huge sigh of relief at the thought that Will was still alive.

"Will."

"She goes free." He demanded, pointing his pistol at Barbossa.

"What's in your head, boy?" Barbossa asked him humorously as he stared at the barrel pointed at him, making the other pirates laugh. "You've only got one shot, and we can't die." Jack closed his eyes and began to mutter to himself, wishing with all his might that Will would hear his silent plead.

"Don't do anything stupid..."

"You can't. I can." Will declared, aiming the gun at himself to everyone's surprise.

"Like that..."

"Who are you?" Barbossa asked. Jack immediately walked up to the pirate and blocked his view of Will.

"No one. He's no one. A distant cousin of my aunt's nephew twice removed. Lovely singing voice, though - eunuch." Jack whispered the last to Barbossa.

"My name is Will Turner. My father was Bootstrap Bill Turner. His blood runs in my veins." Will announced. Jack sighed and backed away as the rest of the crew gaped at the blacksmith.

"He's the spitting image of ol' Bootstrap Bill come back to haunt us." Ragetti cried in fear.

"On my word do as I say, or I'll pull this trigger and be lost to Davy Jones' Locker." Will threatened.

"Name your terms Mr. Turner." Barbossa said to him.

"Elizabeth goes free."

"Yes, we know that one. Anything else?"

"Marine is to be freed together with Elizabeth." He added. Marine widened her eyes and smiled to herself, touched that Will would include her in one of his priorities. Will looked at Jack who was pointing at himself and ignored it as he spoke his last condition. "And the crew! The crew are not to be harmed."

"Agreed." Barbossa told him.

And that was how Elizabeth found herself, standing on the plank right below the waters, trying not to fall for as long as she could. Swords were pointed at her and kept trying to poke her into jumping off. Jack was still on deck, his hands tied up with ropes, while Marine was specially tied up from top to bottom with ropes so tight she thought she would die from lack of oxygen. The bruises on her arm were searing with pain as the ropes squeezed her. She bit her lip and tried her hardest not to cry or whimper from the pain. She wasn't going to let them have that satisfaction. Marine caught Jack sending quick and worried glances at her as they stood together. She gave him a reassuring smile to keep him from feeling upset over her.

"Go on, Poppet, go! Walk the plank!" Pintel told Elizabeth, prodding her with the sword again. Will tried to run for her but the other pirates held him down. He looked at Barbossa with fiery eyes.

"Barbossa, you lying bastard! You swore they'd go free!"

"Don't dare impugn me honor, boy. I agreed she and the other lass go free, but it was you who failed to specify when or where." At a nod, one of the pirates gagged Will with a dirty rag and brought him further back from the scene. Barbossa's attention went back to Elizabeth with mock regret. "Though it does seem a shame to lose something so fine, don't it lads?"

"Aye." The crew replied teasingly, laughing and giving cat calls to Elizabeth.

"So I'll be having that dress back before you go." Barbossa finished, holding out his hand expectantly. Elizabeth took off her dress, carrying her dignity as much as she could, and threw it angrily at Barbossa. Marine was impressed with Elizabeth for being brave enough to stand in her undergarments and not give a reaction.

"It goes with your black heart." She spat. Barbossa caught it in his hands and pressed it to his face. He pretended to be surprised and chuckled as he threw it at the other pirates.

"Ooh, it's still warm." There were still some more prodding before the large man got tired of all the teasing and slammed his leg on the plank, making Elizabeth lose her balance and fall to the sea with a short scream. After that, it was Jack's turn to stand on the plank. Some of the pirates grabbed him and dragged him up to the wooden plank.

"I'd really rather hoped we were past all this." Jack said pleadingly, turning around to gaze at Barbossa. The other man shook his head and gave him a friendly smile which never reached his eyes.

"Jack... Jack. Did ye not notice? That be the same little island that we made you Governor of on our last little trip." He said, gesturing to the small island off the distance. Jack grimaced in reply.

"I did notice."

"Perhaps you'll be able to conjure up another miraculous escape...but I doubt it." He unsheathed his sword and pointed it at Jack. "Off you go."

"Last time, you left me a pistol with one shot." He pointed out to him.

"By the powers, you're right. Where be Jack 's pistol? Bring it forward." One of the pirates walked up to Barbossa holding out Jack's pistol. Barbossa took this and looked at him expectantly. Jack though, still had other ideas in his mind.

"Seeing as there's three of us, a gentleman...would give us three pairs of pistols." Marine snorted and rolled her eyes at that. Barbossa narrowed his eyes at Jack, his patience thinning rapidly.

"It'll be one pistol as before, and you can be the gentleman and shoot one of the ladies and fight with the other for food." He threw the pistol to the waters and laughed as Jack jumped after it. Now Marine was dragged to the plank and was being prodded to jump. Marine turned her gaze at Barbossa with an innocent smile on her face.

"Hey since I'm a pirate just like Jack Sparrow, why not give me a pistol with one shot as well?" Barbossa took special interest in Marine as he stood up on the plank and looked down at her cheerfully.

"Oh we're not planning on letting ye live lass." He held her chin with his hand and moved it so that she looked up at him. He smiled back. "You're as beautiful as your mother. Probably as good in bed as she is. Did you know that lass? Your mother is still alive, living the life of a whore without a care about you. A prostitute whose only purpose in life is to sleep with men for money. You might not even be HIS daughter. But..." He traced the shape of her face and growled. "You have Black Jack's eyes, no doubt about that. And his pirate blood." Marine's emerald green eyes were wide in shock as she stared at Barbossa with her mouth hanging open. "And because you're just as smart, as strong, and as stubborn as your father was. I'll give you the honor of meeting the same fate as your father did...in my hands." He hissed. He pushed her back and watched as she fell into the waters tied up as she was with no way to escape.

As she floated underwater, she struggled with the bonds on her. She twisted and wriggled from left to right, trying to loosen up the ropes binded to her. Thoughts of her real father were keeping her head from making any sense. But it was also the only thing keeping her from giving up her fight. She vowed to kill Barbossa for as long as she lived; vowed to make him pay for what he did to her father. Probably the only true parent she would ever have. As she thought of these things, she didn't recognize or take note of Jack swimming towards her and dragging her to shore by the back of her vest.


	5. Chapter 5

**AN**: Lots of hugs and kisses to those who read and review my fic! Please make my day and keep on R&R-ing XD

* * *

**Chapter 5**

Once Jack and Marine were on shore, the former untied the ropes around Marine and threw them aside in frustration. She was kneeling on the sand, her hair hiding her face from the other two, as she tried to catch her breath. Jack stood up from where he had been crouching and looked at the Black Pearl as it slowly grew smaller from his sight. He gave a sad sigh as he murmured what he was supposed to say.

"That's the second time I've had to watch that man sail away with my ship." He walked off with Elizabeth right on his heels, the two of them leaving Marine where she was.

"But you were marooned on this island before, weren't you? So we can escape in the same way you did then." Elizabeth told him.

"To what point and purpose, young missy? The Black Pearl is gone and unless you have a rudder and a lot of sails hidden in that bodice," He looked at Elizabeth as if trying to see if there really was any and replied smugly. "- unlikely - young Mr. Turner will be dead long before you can reach him." Elizabeth continued to follow him as he knocked on a tree trunk.

"But you're Captain Jack Sparrow." She watched him take four steps forward, "You vanished from under the eyes of seven agents of the East India Company." Jack jumped up and down a few times to her disbelief but she continued to talk. "You sacked Nassau Port without even firing a shot." He stopped, giving Elizabeth the opportunity to look at him face to face. "Are you the pirate I've read about or not? How did you escape last time?" Jack stared at her, hesitated, then lifted up his hands in defeat.

"Last time...I was here a grand total of three days, all right? Last time," He grunted as he opened a cellar door from the spot he jumped and stepped down the stairs into the darkness. "...the rum runners used this island as a cache. Came by, and I was able to barter a passage off. From the looks of things, they've long been out of business. Probably have your bloody friend Norrington to thank for that." He climbed out of the cellar with one bottle of rum in one hand and two bottles in the other.

"So that's it then? That's the secret grand adventure of the infamous Jack Sparrow? You spent three days lying on a beach, drinking rum?!" She said. Jack handed her one bottle and stretched out his arms.

"Welcome to the Caribbean, love." Before Elizabeth could say another word he walked towards Marine who was still on her hands and kneels, shaking as it was to Jack's surprise. Elizabeth followed and when she saw Marine looked worriedly at Jack.

"Is she alright?" Jack didn't answer her and crouched beside the woman on her knees, lifting her hair from her face. He blinked and moved an inch back in surprise when he saw tears streaming down her face.

"Love, are you hurt? Are those bruises bothering you?" He asked worriedly, trying to get her to sit up. Marine looked at Jack and crashed into him, wrapping her arms around him tightly. She was sobbing discreetly but loud enough for Jack and Elizabeth to hear. Jack's body tensed uncomfortably as she hugged him but a moment later he had his arms wrapped around her as well, careful not to touch the bruises on her upper arms. He brushed his hand against her hair, soothing her and trying to say comforting words to her.

"It's alright love, we're going to get out of this island soon, don't worry. You can trust o'l Jack to save you from trouble."

"He killed him..." Jack stopped and looked at her curiously.

"What?"

"He said he killed him...that bastard...he killed my father...he...he..." Marine couldn't get out another word as she began another crying fit. Jack looked at her sadly and turned to Elizabeth, trying to ask her what he should do. Elizabeth looked at him a trifle more before she knelt down on the other side of Marine and held her shoulder gently. Marine looked up at her; puffy red eyes staring at her in a puzzling manner. Even though the young woman knew that she was about to comfort a lying, cheating, pirate, Elizabeth didn't care. Marine didn't look scary or intimidating, just lonely. She took a deep breath and gathered herself before she spoke with the female pirate.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Marine looked from her to Jack Sparrow, her face considering. The sobs had subsided and now only a few sniffles escaped her. At last after a few more minutes she nodded and sat up on the sand with her back straight. She held on a calm and smooth face, recomposing herself before the two. Elizabeth would have never known she had cried if it wasn't for her reddish eyes. Jack wiped one last tear from Marine's face and gave her an encouraging smile.

"Now love, tell us everything." He said gently. When Marine heard him say everything, she saw it as a sign to really tell them everything she knew. Everything that was bottled up in her from the moment she realized what had happened to her was released and flowed out of her quicker than the Black Pearl.

"Alright. I'll tell the two of you the real story. But everything I'm going to say has to stay here; not a single word should be said about this until I say so. Yes Sparrow you're the person I'm warning. If I find out that someone knows about this other than you two I swear to God you will pay. Now, this might seem too incredible to believe but they're true. And please don't interrupt me while I'm still talking. There will be time for questions after I finish." Jack and Elizabeth listened attentively to Marine as she told them first of her own true identity.

"I'm not really Sharpshooter Marine, the infamous pirate. I am in a sense...but at the same time I'm not the real me. I'm a part of a whole person. The real me is a 27 year old woman living in New York of America more than a thousand years in the future. This...Barbossa, you two, Will, Norrington, everyone else in this "world", you're all just characters in a m...book I read back in my own world. I can't explain how I myself appeared here but I did. And no I'm not pretending to be Sharpshooter Marine nor did I kill her and steal her identity. The weird thing about that is...I had dreamed of being Marine years before I ever came here. That was why I know who I am, what I do, who I've met, how I came to be. Really I can't explain how these things happened, I just know that they did." She began.

"I don't understand Miss Marine...I mean, you claim to come from another world, but you mentioned that Barbossa killed your father. How is that possible?" Elizabeth asked her. Marine laughed with a note of sarcasm in her voice.

"Ironic how I've wanted to have parents so badly only to find out that they're already dead." She murmured in a low voice. Jack and Elizabeth looked at each other but didn't say a word. Marine looked down sadly and gave a heavy sigh. "I have no parents back in my world. I was abandoned as a baby in front of a hospital. The nurses had no idea what to do with me so they decided to place me in an orphanage. But that place was full, and they couldn't afford to take in another. So I was sent to a foster home. I've been going from one family to the next; always the family got tired of me and wanted me to leave. It was only years after when I found a family that actually cares for me. I've been with them ever since. I really love them. They're like the parents I never had. But...it's different when you have people who truly are your parents. You have this certain link...this certain feeling of such a tight bond that no human on earth could explain. It's just different."

"Here, in this world, I actually had parents although I never took that seriously since I assumed that. My father was Black Jack, a pirate of one of the legendary ships in the Caribbean Sea. He brought me along with him wherever he went, teaching me everything I needed to know about becoming a pirate. Back then I had no idea who my mother was. My father wouldn't tell me anything about her. He died when I was at the age of 17, right at the moment when he left me in Tortuga in some errand of his for the first time. I had no idea what happened to him then but now I know. Barbossa told me everything. He said that he killed my father and that my mother was...she still is...a prostitute." Elizabeth widened her eyes.

"But then that means..."

"Yes..." Marine murmured sadly. "In this story, I was a child born by accident. With a mother who hardly cared about me. It wouldn't be a surprise to me if she doesn't even know I exist." Tears were trying to fall down from her eyes but she held them back as much as she could. A lone tear managed to escape though and she wiped it away quickly, giving an embarrassed smile to them. "I'm really sorry about this. You must think I'm an idiot or a pathetic pirate...crying about something I can't do anything about." She said.

"No! That's not true! It's alright to cry. I don't think people are pathetic because they cry. And you have every right to cry and feel sad about what happened. Whoever says you're stupid is blind and even dumber. I don't know you that well but I sense that you're someone I can trust Miss Marine. I can feel that you have a good heart in you." She said. Marine gave a small smile.

"Thank you...and please just call me Marine."

"Then call me Liz."

They smiled at each other, a small, invisible but very strong bond slowly forming around them and linking the two together. Jack was silent the whole time the story was being told and when Marine had finished he simply watched them converse with each other. He seemed deep in thought, most likely thinking of everything that Marine just told the two of them. When they stopped chatting, he looked at Marine intently.

"Is this true, Marine? Everything you said?" Marine looked at him a bit stunned. It was the first time she heard Jack address her by her real name. In fact, it was the first time she saw him actually look dead serious. She gave a small nod in reply, afraid that her voice would betray her real emotions. Elizabeth was glaring at Jack and wanted so much to hit him to keep his mouth shut. She couldn't believe that Jack would be so cold hearted that he'd question her about something that was already upsetting her more than necessary.

"It is. I know it's hard to believe, but everything I said is true. Now you know. That's why I knew everything you've done and are going to do, that was why I knew your lines, your words. I know everything that's going to happen to you, to Will, to Elizabeth...to Barbossa." She whispered at the end as she clenched her hands into tight fists. Jack considered her carefully and suddenly widened his eyes as a small realization dawned on him.

"Is that why...is that why you keep shoving yourself away from me whenever I tried to get close? You know everything about me. You know what I'm going to do. Am I going to die? Is that why you won't go near me?" He asked the last in a nervous, hoarse voice. Marine looked at him, fresh tears falling from her face.

"You're a womanzier Jack. You've slept with so many women I couldn't count them in both hands. You're a pirate. You lie, you cheat, you steal, you...you would betray Will. You would betray everyone and anyone, just to save your own life. I...I hate you for that very reason. I've been transferred from one family to the next, and each and every one of them only wanted to use me to their liking. I hate people who use other people for their own purposes because I've been through the receiving end all these years. I hate them...and I hate you. I hate you! I hate you! I hate you!" She screamed. The words felt like poison to her; somehow she felt just as hurt as if someone she had cared about was saying those words to her. Jack stared at her in silence and to Marine's surprise, she saw pain in his eyes. He stood up and walked away from her, deep into the forest. Marine sat there, staring at the spot where Jack sat, and tried to stop herself from crying further. Elizabeth looked at her worriedly and placed an arm around the other woman's shoulders comfortingly.

"It's alright Marine...I don't blame you for not liking that man. No respectable man or woman would want to associate themselves with a man like Jack Sparrow." She sniffed at the name and shook her head in an irritated manner. Marine wiped the tears from her eyes and gave a dry chuckle. She wasn't sad anymore, just really confused and frustrated.

"That's where the problem lies Liz...I don't know what to think of the man. Sometimes I feel like strangling him or stabbing him to death, then there are times when I...when I actually like the man enough to tolerate all of his idiocy." Marine placed her hands on her head and gave a small groan. "I don't understand all of this...I don't want to understand all this...I think I'm about to go insane from all this thinking." She said. Elizabeth frowned at her and crossed her arms.

"You can't go insane! I need you to be here with me so I can tolerate that barbaric brute while we're staying on this island. I don't think I can handle any more of Jack Sparrow and his antics." She said. That really brought a smile to Marine's face. She appreciated the other woman's efforts in making her feel better and her mood actually was lighter than before. After a few moments of silence, Marine saw a mischievous smile grow on Elizabeth's face. "In fact...I think Jack Sparrow needs to be taught a lesson on what should be prioritized. Will you help me with my plan?" She asked her. Marine placed a finger to her chin, pretending to be deep in thought.

"Let me guess; you want me to keep Sparrow distracted and drunk enough so that when you burn up all the crates of rum to make a smoke signal he won't be there to interrupt you. Well? Am I right?" Marine casually turned her gaze to Elizabeth who had a look of surprise on her face. "What's with that look on your face? I did mention that I knew everything that's going to happen." Elizabeth shook off her shock and smiled at her.

"It's just a bit uncomfortable to be with a person who knows my future...tell me Marine, what's going to happen to me and Will?" She asked. Marine grimaced as she remembered the movie she and her friend had watched just before she came here. She didn't want to tell Elizabeth what was going to happen so instead she forced herself to smile at her, praying that the other woman won't notice the change of expression on her face.

"Really I'd like to tell you, but I can't. It might change everything that's going to happen if I did." She said. Elizabeth sighed in defeat, more or less expecting the answer from the female pirate. Marine frowned at her, then immediately changed the subject to a lighter, more cheerful one.

"By the way, I would be honored to help you out with your plan. It will be fun to see Sparrow's face once he sees the rum burning up. But it will be hard distracting him since we're not really on good terms right now...I'm sure I can find some way to keep him busy though." Marine said with an evil grin on her face. Elizabeth perked up and grinned proudly back.

"I must say, this is a brilliant idea I've concocted! Don't ruin it Marine." Marine sighed, shook her head in disbelief and let a very small chuckle escape her. After a while she stood up from her place on the sandy ground and brushed some of the dust from her clothes.

"I'll be off then. Wish me luck." She said and waved an arm as she walked into the forest to follow Jack, catching Elizabeth's words before she disappeared through the trees.

"With a man like Jack, you won't need luck!" Marine chuckled at the comment and didn't bother answering back as she entered the cluster of trees and headed towards the only place she knew where Jack would be. She could clearly hear the sounds of bottles clinking and the sound of someone drinking something very repugnantly. She went closer and found Jack Sparrow hiding inside the dark cellars where all the rum was. She looked down at him with a frown on her face.

"What the hell are you doing there Sparrow?"

"None of your business." The man replied snappily, waving a half-empty bottle at her as if to shoo her away. Marine crouched before the edge of the open hatch and watched him stagger up from one of the half-empty crates.

"Well anyway, I just came by to ask if there's any food in this darn island. We can't possibly survive on rum alone." She told him. Jack looked up at her in exasperation.

"Don't look at me for food lass. There's nothing in here. Try looking for food someplace else." He replied. Marine narrowed her eyes at him suspiciously and stood up from her crouched position.

"Yeah right! As if I'm going to believe you Sparrow." She walked over to the steps and began going down the makeshift stairs to where Jack was standing. The pirate watched her with lazy eyes and grumbled incoherent words to himself. Marine made it down without tripping over anything and looked around the small storage grimly. The only thing she could see in the dim glow of the sunlight above them were empty bottles of rum and crates of them. Aside from that dust and molds were collected in dark, unreachable corners. She made a disgusted face when she accidentally touched something slimy as she roamed around the room of crates. Jack watched her the whole time she was going around and had a smug look on his face when Marine stopped.

"So did you find anything lass?" He asked knowingly. Marine glared at him.

"Damn pirate...how do you expect us to survive on this island for days without food?"

"Easy. With rum!" Jack answered her, raising his bottle proudly. Marine gave a frustrated sigh and raised her arms in the air in irritation.

"Can't you be serious about something for once Sparrow? We're all going to die from starvation here if we don't find a way to leave the island."

"I am serious! We can survive this island as long as we have rum." Jack answered. The irritation was beginning to grow inside Marine as she watched Jack give her another arrogant, smug look. She clenched her fists and gritted her teeth in anger, trying her hardest to keep herself from lunging at Jack and grabbing his throat. She closed her eyes, took deep breaths then counted from one to ten to try and calm herself down. It didn't work though, but before she could explode in anger, an idea popped into her mind. A mischievous smile that Jack never noticed slowly grew on her face. Once she was decided, she looked Jack straight in the eye with the brightest, most innocent looking face she could make. Jack looked back at her and took a step back cautiously.

"What's with that look?" He asked, trying to keep a long distance away from her. Marine shook her head at him, the smile never leaving her face.

"Oh no reason at all Captain." This made Jack feel even more suspicious as Marine walked closer to him. "Just that I can't wait to see you...nah. I shouldn't be telling you this in the first place. Never mind. Forget I said anything. I'll let you go on doing whatever you were doing before." She turned around and began walking up the stairs, the smile growing wider with every step she took. At the very last step at the top, she heard Jack's anxious voice calling for her.

"Marine! My favorite pirate lass. My best mate. Me bony lass. Come on love, tell ol' Jack what it is you were about to say." He said with a pleading look on his face. He was no longer swaying drunkenly; the female pirate's words felt like a bucket of water being poured on him. It must be a ruse. It must be! He bet Marine's planning on making a complete fool out of him. But...but...Jack couldn't help it. The way Marine said it; there was definitely something that's going to happen to him. Marine looked at him with a strange, clueless expression on her face.

"What are you talking about Jack? I was never going to say anything. Enjoy the rest of your free time while you still can." She turned around and walked out of the small cellar, followed by a very flustered Jack Sparrow. She stopped when Jack rushed past her and blocked her path. He had his arms crossed over his chest with a curious eyebrow raised up at her. When Marine still wouldn't answer him, he wagged a unstable finger at her.

"Now now love, I'm your Captain remember? And as your dear Captain, I order you to tell me what it was you were about to say." He said in a slurred manner. Marine looked at him confusedly.

"Captain? How can you be captain when you don't even have a ship. That sure is a weird way to become a captain." She said, the innocent smile growing into an amused one as Jack growled at her in frustration.

"Dammit woman just tell me what I need to know!!!" He shouted angrily. Marine made an exaggerated, defeated sigh and looked at Jack.

"Alright. Since you insist on making me tell. But you have to promise me that you're not going to do anything to stop whatever it is that's going to happen." She warned him. If she knew Jack well, he'd ignore her words and still do whatever he wanted. It was exactly what Marine was expecting from Jack Sparrow. The pirate nodded vigorously at her then rubbed his hands together eagerly.

"I promise love. Now tell Jackie what's going to happen to him."

"Well..." Marine began, pacing around Jack as if considering. "There was a particular scene that I read in the book about this island. The book mentioned that both you and Elizabeth were going to be rescued by Norrington. But then after you left this island to get your revenge on Barbossa it was mentioned that there was an incredible treasure buried deep within the sands on the shore. You never got your hands on it. The Commodore on the other hand..." She left it at that, leaving Jack to his own imaginations. "I'll leave you to your thoughts then. Just remember not to go to the other side of this island. I think that's where the treasure is. If you happen to find that treasure who knows what changes in the future will happen." She smiled at Jack and gave a small wave to him. "See you later."

She walked away and never looked over her shoulder at Jack. It was only when she reached the base of a trunk of a tree that she stopped and looked back at where she had left. Just as she predicted, Jack was pondering deeply to himself, most likely about what she had said. It took a few more seconds before a wide, goofy grin came upon the pirate's face. Jack rubbed his hands dry eagerly and began running to the direction Marine expected from him. She gave a soft chuckle and waited for a while longer before coming out of her hiding place to go down into the small storage room.

"While he goes out on a pointless treasure hunt, I'll be sitting here, having the time of my life." She said cheerfully to herself as she grabbed a bottle of rum from one of the open crates. "I'm sure Sparrow won't mind if I get a bottle or two. Of course he won't."

* * *

The fact that Jack was still out even after the sun had gone down surprised Marine a bit. She had expected Jack to go rushing about in search of the treasure but she didn't think the pirate was stupid enough to take her words seriously. Or was he...? Marine suppressed a chuckle that wanted so badly to come out of her mouth. She raised her second bottle of half-empty rum in front of her and watched the liquid swirl about as she swung it from side to side lazily. Maybe she should get Jack to come back. Her plan wasn't going to work if he wasn't there to begin with. She gave an exasperated sigh and pushed herself up from where she sat among the dusty crates. 

She went out of the small storage room, brushing off the dust that had settled on her clothes, and saw none other than Jack Sparrow running towards her while flailing his hands more energetically than what was usual for him. She raised an eyebrow in curiosity as she stood there immobile. Jack stopped right in front of her, placing his hands on his knees while trying to regain his breathing, before looking at her excitedly.

"I found it love! I found that treasure you were speaking of!" He cried. "I know I shouldn't have done it and that if I did terrible, unspeakable things will happen in the future but the gold was calling to me. I couldn't resist and decided to look for it myself. A chest full of precious, valuable, expensive gold and it's all thanks to you!" Marine stared at him dumbfounded as he began dancing around her. It should have been impossible. No, it was impossible. She found her mouth gaping at him and closed it before Jack could notice. The movie never mentioned anything about a treasure on the isolated island. In fact, it didn't mention the island that much except that it was run by rum runners. Was it possible for the movie not to mention everything about the world? What if this truly did change what was supposed to happen in the story?

On the bright side, they now have a chest full of wondrous gold with only three people to share it with.

She shook her head, trying to regain composure, and looked at him impatiently. "Well where is it? I want to get one third of the share!" She cried, though not as eagerly as Jack's had been. The pirate grinned and pointed towards the direction he had come from; the same one Marine had told him of before.

"It's still on the other side of the island, right where I found it. The beautiful thing's too heavy for me to carry alone." He explained. Marine took a step forward then one back. She turned her gaze on their side, where Elizabeth was waiting for her to get Jack distracted.

"We probably should tell Elizabeth about this. I don't think it's fair that she doesn't get a share of the treasure."

"Oh trust me love, the lass won't like this type of treasure. Let her be and follow me!" Jack grabbed her wrist and began dragging her along. Marine stumbled forward a few steps before she regained her balance and followed Jack as much as she could without falling flat on her face. While they walked though the forest, Marine began imagining what type of treasure Jack had found. There might be lots of gold coins, gold jewelries, beautiful diamonds and other gems, there might even be some cool weapons she could use for show. A wide grin began to grow larger on the female pirate's face as she pictured more expensive, more invaluable treasure in her mind. She tried to ask Jack for more information but all the pirate told her was to see it for herself.

They finally stopped walking after a while and stood before a very large hole right at the center of that part of the island. It was 6 meters in diameter and was deeper than Marine would have imagined it to be. It would be very difficult for someone to get out of that hole after going into it. Marine stared at the sight in front of her disbelievingly. Jack Sparrow actually dug a hole THAT big just to find the treasure that might not even be there. She turned her gaze to Jack Sparrow who was still emitting a sense of enthusiasm. He turned to face her when he sensed her looking at him and grinned brighter than ever.

"Well love, here it is! The treasure's down below." He said proudly. Marine tried to peer below but with the moonlight barely visible, she could only make out the shadowed form of a box on the ground. She turned back her gaze to Jack.

"And how, pray tell, do you expect me to get down from here to there?" She asked. Jack's face never changed its expression, not even when he suddenly pushed her forward and sent her tumbling into the dark hole. In fact, his grin grew wider if that was still possible. Marine gave a short cry of surprise and groaned in pain as her head connected to one side of the crate with a very loud thump. Spots of white light danced in her vision and for a moment she could only stare at the wall. Luckily for her the bruises on her arms weren't as painful as they were before. After a while she got up on her feet weakly then glared at Jack from above with so much anger in her eyes.

"What the hell was that for Sparrow?! If you wanted to kill me that badly why didn't you just shoot me?" She asked rhetorically. Jack smiled down at her with a not so innocent, innocent face.

"I didn't try to kill you love. I accidentally hit you on the side. That was why you fell. Honest." He said. Ocean blue eyes lit up in angry flames and devoured her whole body in a dangerous and intense aura. Marine clenched her fists tightly, gritted her teeth until they hurt, and looked around the area to find anything to throw at Jack. The only object she found was that crate before her, which Jack mentioned had many valuable and expensive gold in it. She immediately opened the lid and peered inside to see what very heavy object she could throw at Jack. It was dark so she couldn't see what was inside the box. She reached into it, rummaged for any hard object, and pulled out one that she felt was good enough. Her face fell as she saw what she held in her hand. She looked up at Jack angrier than she ever was.

"Rum? The treasure's a crate of rum!?!" Jack shrugged at her.

"Well I did mention that they're valuable and expensive. That rum in your hand costs a lot you know! I even added that the other lass won't like it. They're all true." He said. Marine stared up at him as she tried to recall their conversation earlier. She realized that he did mention those, and that they were true, though not in the way she understood when he first told her. Then one other point came up to her mind.

"But what about the thing you mentioned about gold? You said it was a chest full of precious, valuable, expensive gold. You lied to me!" She told him accusingly. Jack grinned at her and replied to her using the very words she herself had told Will the first time they set foot in Isla de Muerta; the lines Jack was supposed to say.

"Not all treasure is silver and gold mate." Marine spluttered as she tried to think of another comeback. She couldn't believe it! Jack Sparrow knew she was trying to trick him and decided to get back at her by tricking her with a similar reason. She was just out-fooled by Jack. "Well then love, why don't you stay there and contemplate on what you've done while I go back to me lovely rum." He gave a small wave before turning around. "I'll be back to pick you up once we're ready to leave the island."

"Oh no you don't!" With the bottle of rum still in her hand, Marine swung it up as high as she could and with her accurate skills, hit the edge where Jack stood. The sound of shattering glass stopped Jack from moving further and made him turn his attention back to her. The impact of the bottle on the soil made some of the rocks come off loose and fall apart. The ground couldn't support Jack's weight any longer and sent him falling into the hole as well. She winced as she heard Jack shout and crash onto the ground a few meters away from her. She was about to go to him and see if he was alright when she remembered the reason he fell and growled at him.

"Argh damn you woman! You could have gotten me killed." Jack cried painfully as he sat up from the ground.

"Really? Too bad it didn't work." Marine replied in a poisonous tone. "Serves you right for pushing me into this hole and trying to kill me earlier!" Jack looked back at her with equal venom and stood up from where he sat. Within a few minutes, both pirates were angrily staring down the other with their faces merely a few inches apart.

"Well that's for making me dig up a hole this big."

"You did all of that by yourself you imbecile!"

"You said there was treasure in this island so being the curious and greedy man that I am, I decided to look into it."

"I never told you to get the treasure. I clearly stated that you were not to go and look for the treasure."

"But you knew I was going to get it."

"That's because you're so slow and so gullible. I wouldn't have fooled you if you weren't a big, selfish, insufferable idiot!"

"I'm a pirate lass! Pirates aren't supposed to be approachable, selfless and friendly."

"Really? Whoever made that assumption seemed to forget that pirates aren't very intelligent either."

"Takes one to know one."

"Jerk!"

"Wench!"

"Bastard!"

"Witch!"

"Pig!"

On and on their exchange of insults went, and having had enough, Marine grabbed another bottle of rum and threw it at Jack. The pirate managed to catch it in his hand before it connected with his head but because the bottle's cork was loose, its contents spilled all over Jack. Rum soaked the pirate from head to toe, staining his clothes with red splotches that slowly grew bigger. Jack opened and closed his mouth repeatedly without saying a word, the shock of what had happened baffling him. After a few minutes he shook his head then narrowed his eyes at Marine.

"How dare you waste my rum! Do you know how hard it will be to find good, free rum like these in the other ports? Hey-don't tell me you're laughing. Are you laughing at me? Stop laughing woman!" Marine couldn't hold that giddy feeling bubbling inside her and had roared with laughter at the sight of the drenched pirate.

"You...you...you look ridiculous!" Marine cried, tears of laughter springing out of her eyes. He really did look humorous, with his hair flat as a board, sticking out from all the wrong places and the tips of it dripping rum to fall into the large puddle that had formed underneath him. Even his beard with its two braids was ruined because of the substance. The bandanna that was wrapped around his head stuck to the hair and his skin, making it feel and look very sticky. Jack continued to glare at her for a while until the female pirate's contagious laughter filled him as well. He wasn't the type to stay mad at anyone because of something like that either way. He grinned mischievously and reached out into the crate.

"You think that's funny eh love? I'll show you something that's even funnier!" Marine widened her eyes and stepped back as she watched Jack take a bottle of rum in his hands. She held out her hands in a futile attempt at defense and began to laugh nervously.

"Hey Sparrow-I mean Captain. That's not the way to treat a woman. Really, what happened back there was an accident. I never intended to pour the rum on you. You have to believe me! And you must admit that it was pretty funny how you got soaked with rum. Aww come on captain! Hey-hey don't go near me with that thing in your hand. I swear I will make you pay. Sparrow...SPARROW!!" Marine gave a short scream as Jack uncorked the bottle and poured out the rum at her. She managed to dodge the substance, having jumped to the side in time. This didn't dishearten Jack though, not at all. He casually walked towards her, the now half-empty bottle swinging in his hands. Marine, as a way of retaliation, grabbed another bottle from the crate and held it up threateningly at Jack.

"You take one more step and this rum will either find its way on the ground or on you...again." She said. Jack stopped in his tracks and frowned. Marine smiled in relief, thinking that Jack had finally gotten his senses back and wouldn't go on with this. She was wrong. Very wrong. Jack actually pretended to ponder on her warning then shrugged it off.

"What's two or three more bottles when it means I get to drench you in rum to teach you a lesson?" Marine widened her eyes and scrambled away from where she as was Jack suddenly acquired lightning speed and chased her around the hole.

* * *

After a few hours had passed both Jack and Marine, with their whole bodies doused in rum, sat around a fire they had created from the wooden crate and some rocks. The two of then had drunk very large amounts of rum and were dancing and singing songs to pass the time. 

"We're devils and black sheep and really bad eggs. Drink up me 'earties yo ho! Yo ho, yo ho a pirate's life for me." They laughed and waved bottles of rum in their hands up in the air as they ran all around the hole jumping and twirling around like ballerinas. Jack stopped to take another huge swallow of his rum then gave a satisfied sigh right after.

"I love this song! Really bad eggs! Ooh." He tripped on his own feet, lost his balance, and fell onto the hard ground with a plop. Marine was still running around when she tripped on Jack's legs and fell onto his lap. Her mind was all a fuzz and she didn't bother trying to get out of her predicament. She simply shifted and made herself comfortable in her spot. Jack seemed to have ignored it or didn't see it because he went on speaking. "When I get the Pearl back, I'm gonna teach it to the whole crew, and we'll sing it all the time!"

"And you'll be positively the most fearsome pirate in the Spanish Main." Marine said to him, the lines automatically coming out of her mouth. She knew it sounded weird if she said it, but she was too drunk to care. A pirate she might be, but one thing she wasn't good at as a pirate was to hold her liquor for long. That was why she limited herself to two or three bottles of it. Only now, she didn't care if she had drunk a whole box of it; which they almost did.

"Not just the Spanish Main, love. The entire ocean. The entire wo'ld." Jack almost fell on his back as he made a grand wave of his arms. "Wherever we want to go, we'll go. That's what a ship is, you know. It's not just a keel and a hull and a deck and sails; that's what a ship needs. But what a ship is...what the Black Pearl really is...is freedom." Marine gave a soft, dreamy sigh and stared up at Jack from where she lay.

"I love it when you say your lines Jack." She said. Jack raised an eyebrow in amusement as he rubbed the little trinkets in his beard in consideration.

"Really, love? What other things do you love about me?" He asked. Marine crunched up her face in concentration before giggling uncontrollably.

"Well actually I love a lot of things about you. You're handsome, you're charming, you kick ass, you're suave and sexy, you're brave and strong, you're loyal-"

"Hey, you told me earlier that I was a lying, cheating, womanizing pirate. And didn't you repeatedly mention to me that you hated me so much?" He asked in a slurred manner.

"Huh?" Marine blinked a few seconds before replying. "I did? Well maybe I did. I don't know. It's hard to stay mad at you no matter what you've done. But I will still think you're an irritating, arrogant idiot for as long as I live." Jack frowned at her and poked her forehead slightly.

"You're really confusing me love. You praise me and adore me one moment, the next you're insulting me."

"Well it's true! Sometimes I feel like grabbing your throat to squeeze the living daylights out of you. Other times I feel like grabbing you and kissing you forever and ever and ever and ever!" She announced cheerfully.

"As much as I enjoy exchanging insults with you, I prefer the latter one love."

"What latter one? Oh that one? I like that one too." She replied, not really paying attention to what she was saying. "Now that I think about it, I don't really hate you Jack. In fact, you're my favorite character. Sometimes, when I'm not dreaming of being Marine, I dream of being trapped or kidnapped by nasty men. Then all of a sudden you'll come in like a knight in shining armor and rescue me from harm. Then you'll kiss me passionately and make me feel like melting inside a roller coaster ride with fireworks flashing across the sky and church bells ringing all around us. After all that, you'll declare your undying love for me and ask me to marry you and we'll live happily ever after."

"That's a really wild dream you have there."

"Aye it is. Let's make a toast." She said, bringing up her bottle in front of Jack. "To my dream, that it would come true someday." Jack gave a drunken laugh as he brought up his own bottle and clinked it with hers a bit clumsily.

"And to my Black Pearl. To freedom. That I may get it back from that blasted Barbossa and have many more rum on my ship." Both pirates swallowed what was left of the rum in the bottles and threw them aside. Marine had finally burned up every single speck of what was left of her energy and fell unconscious unto Jack who was not so far from following Marine. They fell asleep right there inside the hole, one on top of the other in a comfortable position. Elizabeth at this time had gotten tired of waiting and decided to find Marine and Jack. It took her quite some time to look for them but it wasn't that difficult to spot the strangely large hole in the middle of the sandy beach. She peered down and smiled in satisfaction as she saw both pirates dead asleep.

"Marine you are unbelievable." She whispered to herself. She stood up, brushed off some of the dirt that had stained her skirts, and walked back to where the small storage room was.


	6. Chapter 6

**AN**: Hello there. I only got 1 review but what the heck. I can take that. Better one than none. Anywhoo, thanks again to those who bother reading the fic and I hope you guys review for my sake.

* * *

**Chapter 6**

Pain was the first thing Marine felt as soon as she opened her eyes. Sunlight was coming down at them from a shadeless spot, blinding her eyes, and at the same time her head throbbed horribly with the hangover from last night. Despite drinking countless bottles of rum, her mind wasn't as fuzzy as it would normally be. She remembered images from what happened last night, from dancing and singing insanely with Jack Sparrow and talking with him in front of the fire. What was worse was, she actually remembered telling Jack that she fancied him and that she wanted to kiss him and all that. She could feel her face turn red at the thought. She couldn't believe she said those things to him. She wasn't even sure of what she was feeling for the pirate. Did Jack remember that night? How was he going to react to that?

It was only then that she looked around the place. She was still inside the hole and the burned crate lay before her, the fire gone long before she woke up. Bottles of rum both broken and whole littered the muddy, sticky ground and the walls were stained with dried rum. She looked a bit to her side and found Jack Sparrow sleeping beside her. What shocked her more was the fact that he hadn't tried to get closer to her during the night.

"He must have been that drunk to end up this way..." She murmured to herself. A groan escaped from the mouth of said pirate as he shifted uncomfortably on the ground. Marine looked at him hesitantly and waited for him to sit up and get back his senses or what was left of it. She had to know if he remembered their conversation last night. Worrying over what to do if he did remember would have to wait.

"Sparrow...Sparrow can you hear me?" She asked softly.

"Keep your voice low lass you don't have to shout." He moaned, holding his head in pain with his eyes tightly closed, despite the fact that Marine didn't even raise her voice to a normal level. Marine's patience began to grow thin but she struggled to tolerate him that moment. He was as drunk as her after all, waking up with a normal hangover from all the rum they drank a while ago, whether she could believe that or not. Shouting at him and getting angry at him would go nowhere. Not that she wanted to do any of those things to him in her present state in the first place.

"Sparrow...I need to ask you a question."

"What is it?" He whined. "This better be good or someone will have to pay."

"Do you remember what happened last night?" She asked nervously. Jack opened one eye at her and made a grimace.

"If you're wondering if we did it last night then we didn't. I could barely remember anything from last night but if we did make love on this spot we wouldn't be sitting here with our clothes on now would we?" He stated more than asked. Marine gave a sigh of relief, gaining a different answer from what Jack said. He said he couldn't recall. That was good. That way it was as if nothing had happened. But Marine decided that she was going to have to recollect herself concerning this subject. There was no way she was going to make the same mistake twice. While she thought of these things Jack stood up from the ground and began to look for more rum.

"Love do you know where all the rum went?" He asked. Marine was still having her share of the hangover and was not in a very chipper mood.

"Why do you want another bottle of rum when you've already had tons of it?" She asked.

"I'm having a hangover." Jack answered as if it explained everything. Marine tilted her head slowly to the side.

"And...?"

"And I need some rum to soothe my hangover pains."

"Well you won't find any here because we finished them all last night dumbass. Don't you remember burning up the empty crate of rum to make a fire? You should remember that because we weren't that drunk then." Jack looked up at the sky in thought.

"Hm...I guess we did. Well then, let's get ourselves out of this hole and get some more rum." Marine groaned and fell back on the ground.

"Haven't you had enough of drinking rum all the time?" She asked.

"No. I will never get tired of drinking rum. In fact, it will be the only thing I'm drinking for the rest of my life." He answered with a goofy grin on his face. How he could recover from the headache in such a short time was a mystery to Marine. Either that or he was just keeping her from seeing his pains. The smile on his face vanished though, as soon as he sniffed the air. "Do you smell that?" He asked her. It took Marine a few seconds to understand what Jack had asked then tried to smell the air as well. At first she couldn't smell anything at all, but a few minutes later the strong smell of something burning filled her nostrils. She made a grimace and coughed slightly from the stench.

"Yeah I can smell it. Must have come from that smoke over there." She said as she caught sight of a really black cloud of smoke rising up in the skies. Jack looked up curiously then tried to climb up as fast as he can out of the hole, which wasn't really doing much. He had dug the hole too deep and the walls, because they had wasted the rum on it, was too sloppy and too mushy to use as support. He made a few more tries before sitting down on the ground in surrender. Marine crossed her arms and stared at him smugly.

"That's what you get for making a hole this deep. What in the world possessed you do something as senseless and stupid as that?" She asked him. Jack shrugged in reply, then watched the black clouds as they faded away the higher they went up to the sky.

"I just wanted to watch you fall down into this hole and suffer, that's all."

"Aww gee thanks Sparrow. You dug out a very deep hole, dragged a whole box of rum and dropped it in just for me? You're too kind. I'm touched and what you did really means a lot to me." Marine said in sarcasm. Jack looked at her in surprise.

"You mean that?"

"**NO I DIDN'T MEAN WHAT I SAID YOU CLUELESS, SLOW-BRAINED BIRD**!" She shouted at him, followed after by a groan of pain as she held her head and massaged it in an attempt to rid of the annoying ringing vibrating in her mind. Once the pains subsided she looked back at Jack who was staring at her in a confused manner.

"If you didn't mean it then why say it?" He asked. Marine glared at him, her anger boiling inside her. She struggled with herself not to shout at Jack and beat him up senseless. To her relief, a voice from above reached their ears.

"Jack! Marine! Are you two awake?" Elizabeth asked as she peered down from the edge of the hole. Both pirates looked up at Elizabeth with grateful expressions. Marine was the first to walk closer and made a plead to the young woman.

"Liz! Please get me outta here! I'm begging you! Let me out before I decide to change the course of the events and kill Sparrow right here and then." She said.

"I take it that means I wouldn't be killed soon." Jack replied as he stood up and went beside her to stare up at Elizabeth. "Now if you would be so kind Miss Swann, I would like to get out from this hole and get myself a bottle of rum." They didn't understand the look on Elizabeth's face as her lips curled up into a very big smile. The two people inside the hole looked at each other in silence before looking back at Elizabeth who had dropped down one end of a rope she found in the cellar.

"I'll help you two get out of the hole...but I'm not too sure about you getting your rum Jack." Elizabeth told them. Jack's face looked suspicious as he held onto the rope and hesitantly began to climb up. Marine followed right after and realized what had happened as events from yesterday began to come back to her mind. A smile as wide, if not wider, as Elizabeth's grew on her face as she pushed herself out of the hole and brushed the dust that cumulated on her clothes. She looked around her and found Jack staring with his mouth agape at the burning sight before him.

"No! Not good! Stop! Not good! What are you doing? You burned all the shade! The rum!" He cried. Elizabeth looked at Jack calmly.

"Yes, the rum is gone."

"Why is the rum gone?" He moaned as he looked about to fall to his knees. Marine could hardly keep her laughter to herself. The man looked like he was about to cry his heart out for the loss of the rum. Elizabeth didn't see the face and spoke right beside him while glaring disgustedly at the rum that was burning up.

"One, because it is a vile drink that turns even the most respectable men and women into complete scoundrels."

"Hey, I'm not that un-respectable. See? I'm sober." Marine argued. Elizabeth looked at her with a warning glare, making the female pirate close her mouth tight, before looking back at Jack and continuing. "Two, that signal is over a thousand feet high. The entire Royal Navy is out looking for me, do you really think that there is even the slightest chance that they won't see it?" Whether Jack listened or not, they couldn't tell. A second later the pirate turned his head towards Elizabeth and made a desperate, depressed frown at her.

"But why is the rum gone?" Elizabeth narrowed her eyes at him then sat down near the shore to look beyond the sea expectantly with determination set in her whole self.

"Just wait, Captain Sparrow. You give it one hour, maybe two, keep a weather eye out and then you will see white sails on that horizon." She ignored both him and Marine after that as if simply willing it would make a ship appear to their rescue. Marine gave a soft chuckle and stretched out her limbs.

"Well I'll be leaving you to yourself while I go and find someplace to clean myself up a little bit. Let me know when help arrives." She only caught a glance of Elizabeth's wave of assent before turning around and walking back through the depths of the forest. What she didn't notice was that Jack had followed her into the cluster of trees and nearly gave her a fright as he shouted at her in anger.

"You knew about this didn't you?! You know what that wretched woman was going to do to my precious rum!" He cried accusingly. Marine glanced over her shoulder and grinned.

"Really? What made you think that?" She asked innocently. Jack took out his gun and aimed it at her, his fist shaking hesitantly. Marine raised an eyebrow at him and shook her finger at him.

"Remember, that shot isn't meant for me either." After a few more minutes of aiming it at her, Jack replaced his gun in his holster with an angry frown. Marine chuckled at him and smiled at him reassuringly.

"Don't worry Sparrow. I knew what was going to happen. I thought it would be best if I made a few careful preparations behind her back." She said mischievously. Jack's face brightened and he looked at Marine with a very hopeful face.

"You kept some rum?" He asked. Marine straightened her back and looked at him indignantly.

"Well of course. It would have been a waste to see every bottle burned." Jack rushed to her and hugged her tightly, swinging her from side to side like a doll while shouting cheers and praises at her.

"I love ya lass! I love ya as much as I love the Black Pearl and rum!" He cried happily.

"And what makes you think I'm going to give _you _some?" She asked with amusement and slight curiosity twinkling in her eyes. Jack looked at her crestfallen.

"Then...you don't have rum for me?" Marine placed a finger to her chin in thought.

"Well...that depends on my mood. If you really want to have some rum you have to shut up and stay away from me until we get onto a ship. Is that clear?" She didn't even hear an answer from Jack as he suddenly ran away from her as fast as he could. But before he completely disappeared he stopped and turned back to look at her.

"You better get me at least 4 bottles of rum!" He shouted. Marine chuckled and shook her head at him in disbelief. Leave it to Jack not to take her threat seriously; even if her threat really wasn't supposed to be taken seriously. As soon as she was sure that Jack was gone, she continued to walk through the forest until she found a small pond in a small clearing. She crouched before the edge and peered into her reflection with a grimace. Her whole body looked sticky, having been doused with rum from top to bottom. There were splotches of mud and rum on her shirt and face, making polka-dotted decorations on her own self. After taking a deep breath, she dived into the pond with a soft splash.

She resurfaced from under the pond with a gasp for air and brushed away some of the strands of hair that stuck to her face. Mud began to wash away from her and form small clumps on the water. Marine washed herself off as much of the grime, dirt and rum on her as she could while looking up to the sky in a relaxed, trance-like manner. The place was beautiful, with tall green trees, clean, clear blue oceans, white sandy shores, flowers and other types of exotic plants popping everywhere she looked at. It was so peaceful there; a solitary paradise she would not mind being stuck in. She frowned when all of a sudden thoughts about Jack and her sprouted from her mind. Her frown went even deeper as she made herself remember the reason she had left Elizabeth's company. A sigh couldn't help but escape from her lips as she began scrubbing her hair clean.

Now, to recollect herself and gather her thoughts about a certain Captain...

* * *

Jack Sparrow came out of the clump of trees, grumbling softly to himself. He was still sore about the burned up rum and the fact that Marine had known what was going to happen and was a part of the nasty plot. On the bright side, he thought, Marine had been kind enough to think of saving a few bottles for him. She never said they were his, but he was confident that he'll get them all somehow. A rougish grin grew on his face at the thought of that. He arrived back at the place where he had dug the hole and saw Elizabeth still sitting on the same spot; still staring beyond the horizon. He walked up to her in his usual drunken swagger and looked down on her. Elizabeth heard the pirate coming closer to her and looked up at him in turn. 

"What do you want now Jack?"

"I was just wonderin' when you're going to stop wishing for a boat to appear and start thinking of other important things." He replied. Elizabeth narrowed her eyes at him.

"Oh? Like what may I ask?"

"Like what you're going to do to repay me for the rum you burned."

"What?! I am not going to pay you Jack Sparrow! That isn't even yours to begin with."

"Really? I _am_ the governor of this little island if you recall Barbossa mentioning it clearly." Jack drawled as he made a wide, grand flourish with his hands and swung it wide as if presenting the island to Elizabeth for the first time. "And since this be my island that I am governor of, everything on this island is legally owned by the governor, which happens to be me. Captain Jack Sparrow, The Governor. Savvy?"

"No it's not. You can't govern an island that has no inhabitants. And even if there were residents, you can't become a governor. You're not even a man of nobility. You're a pirate! A lying, cheating, dirty old pirate!" She spat angrily. "Now leave me be or I'll tell whoever rescues us to leave you on this island for as long as you live." She said, turning herself around to watch the sea once more. Jack gritted his teeth in anger and took out his gun from its holster. He aimed the barrel at Elizabeth's back; the young woman oblivious to what Jack was about to do to her. Marine's words echoed in his head as he held the gun at Elizabeth and after a second, he replaced it back. He turned around and stalked off as far away as he could get himself to. While he walked by the waves crashing onto shore, he mocked Elizabeth in his irritation.

"_'I am not going to pay you Jack Sparrow'_, she didn't even mention my title..._'that isn't even yours to begin with. You're a pirate! A lying, cheating dirty old pirate. Leave me be.'_ Bah! I'll leave her be alright. I'll leave her alone even if all of Barbossa's men gang up on her like the hungry bastards they are. I'll leave her be even if she hands over the most expensive treasure in the world and begs me on her knees to come to her." He growled angrily to himself. He stopped in his tracks, his eyes catching sight of a small form of a ship slowly growing larger as it sailed towards the island. He recognized the ship when it came up close and frowned openly as he murmured disappointingly to himself.

"There'll be no living with her after this."

Marine at the time had come out of the forest as well, cleaner than before yet still dripping wet. She saw Elizabeth sitting on the sand with Jack nowhere to be found. She wasn't worried. She knew that the pirate could take better care of himself than she and Elizabeth could. So she took her mind off of Jack Sparrow and walked up to her newfound friend to sit down beside her. She was about to open her mouth to say something when she saw the grim expression on her face and raised an eyebrow in curiosity instead.

"What's with that look Liz?" She asked her.

"Jack Sparrow." The other woman replied, as if that would explain everything. Strangely, Marine understood what Elizabeth was trying to say and forced down a chuckle that wanted to come out of her. "That man is an annoying, no good...no good...I can't even put words to how I feel about that man!" She said with a huff.

"Oh yes, I agree that it's difficult to fully describe him in detail or explain how you feel about him. A lot of words come to mind when I think of Jack Sparrow. But daft and arrogant are my own favorites." Marine answered with a grin. Elizabeth giggled softly in reply to that. Marine then looked around the place. "Speaking of which, where is that Sparrow?" She asked.

"He went away from here half an hour ago. I don't know where he went off to though." Elizabeth said. Marine was still looking around when she spotted a very small dot on the far side of the island. It didn't take her long to recognize the signs that a ship was approaching and stood up from the sandy ground. She knew whose ship it was and knew who else would have spotted it by now. Elizabeth looked up at her in confusion and was about to open her mouth to ask what was wrong when Jack came walking up to them from the same direction.

"Your friends have come to your dire rescue, just like you wanted." Jack muttered angrily at the sight of Elizabeth's wondering look. The young woman widened her eyes in surprise then excitedly stood up and walked towards the nearing ship, gathering her skirts up above her knee so she wouldn't trip on her own dress.

"Well what on earth are we waiting for? Let's go!" She said. Marine gave a soft chuckle, shaking her head in disbelief, as she casually walked after Elizabeth toward the Dauntless. She stopped when she noticed Jack missing from her side and turned around to find him standing where he was, with a frown on his face. She smiled and walked back to him.

"Oh yes I almost forgot...I kept the rum over there, buried not so deeply under the sands, safe and sound." She said, pointing at the direction of the ship. Jack widened his eyes as he stared at the horizon. Then after a while he narrowed his eyes at her in suspicion.

"You planned all this didn't you? You deliberately placed the rum there so I would be seen by the Commodore and his men when I get it." He said accusingly. Marine looked at Jack, feigning surprise.

"Jack! How could you accuse me of such a thing? I would never do that to a great and wonderful friend like you. Now if you think you can't handle getting into that ship and standing face to face with Commodore Norrington for a while, then I won't mind having all those bottles of rum all to myself." Jack quickly reached out and grabbed her wrist before she could take a step further. When Marine looked at Jack, it was to look at his normal, charming grin.

"I would never pass up the opportunity to meet my good old buddy Norrington. Let's get my rum then say hello to the man." He said, holding out his arm for her. Marine laughed and wrapped her hand on his arm as she followed him towards the ship.

* * *

Once they got on the small rowboats towards the ship, things weren't as good as Elizabeth hoped them to be. Her father, Governor Swann was there to greet her as well as Norrington himself. And as soon as Jack and Marine stepped onto the Dauntless, guards surrounded them and aimed rifles at close range to keep the pirates from escaping. They pushed both of them to the side right while Elizabeth walked up to the Commodore and spoke with him. 

"But we've got to save Will." She protested. Norrington ignored her pleas as he walked towards the helm. Elizabeth's father was right on her heels, trying to get her to calm down and stop.

"No. You're safe now. We will return to Port Royal immediately, not go gallivanting after pirates!" He said. Elizabeth turned around and glared at her father.

"Then we condemn him to death."

"The boy's fate is regrettable, but, then, so was his decision to engage in piracy." Governor Swann said. He did like Will, but felt disappointed at what had happened to him; helping two infamous and dangerous pirates escape from prison and joining them in stealing one of the Royal Navy's ships was not something he would want his son-in-law, relative or good friend to do. Elizabeth looked at him incredulously. She couldn't believe her father was saying these things about Will.

"To rescue me. To prevent anything from happening to me." She cried.

"If I may be so bold as to inject my professional opinion." Jack pointed out as he walked up to Norrington. "The Pearl was listing near to scuppers after the battle. It's very unlikely she'll be able to make good time. Think about it. The Black Pearl. The last real pirate threat in the Caribbean, mate. How can you pass that up?" He said. Norrington stared at him for a moment before opening his mouth.

"By remembering that I serve others, Mr. Sparrow, not only myself." He replied coldly. Then he turned around and walked up the steps to the helm. It was at that moment when Elizabeth went to the end of the steps and stopped him.

"Commodore, I beg you, please do this. For me. As a wedding gift." Norrington immediately stopped in his tracks and turned to Elizabeth hesitantly and incredulously. Governor Swann looked at Elizabeth half-shocked and half-pleased at the same time.

"Elizabeth. Are you accepting the Commodore's proposal?" Elizabeth hesitated, before forcing herself to smile at Norrington.

"I am."

"A wedding! I _love_ weddings...drinks all around!" Jack cried cheerfully as he extended his arms as far as he could. Everyone standing on the deck stared at him in silence; especially Norrington who looked at him in irritation. "I know. 'Clap him in irons,' right?" Jack murmured grumpily as he placed both his hands together. Norrington didn't bother answering the pirate and turned away from him even though he was still addressing him.

"Mr. Sparrow, you will accompany these fine men to the helm and provide us with the bearing to Isla de Muerta. You will then spend the rest of the voyage contemplating all possible meanings of the phrase "silent as the grave." Do I make myself clear?"

"Inescapably clear." Jack replied with a slur and a casual grin to the commodore. Marine blinked at the two men then glared at Norrington.

"I didn't hear anything about me. What the hell am I supposed to do?! Stay here like some kind of useless piece of trash being imprisoned while Jack goes about the ship, walking like a bloody free man? For Christ's sake he's done crimes worse than I did. You should be trusting me more with these things." She cried angrily. Governor Swann would have fainted at Marine's colorful words if it wasn't for his holding on to the railings of the ship. Norrington looked at Marine with an equally emotionless face.

"You are to stay here under tight surveillance Miss Marine. I do not need to have two pirates gallivanting about my ship instead of being held at the prison cells." He said. "And considering the two of you, I believe Jack Sparrow would be a more reliable and capable person to lead us to this island than you would be." He added after a few seconds. If Marine could freeze hell over, the look on her face at that moment would. Norrington ignored her though, and turned his attention to his men as he shouted orders for the ship to start sailing towards their new destination. Most of the men started running about deck, with Jack followed closely by some others plus Commodore Norrington himself. As for Marine, two guards took hold of her and began to drag her down into the dungeons as ordered by Norrington.

Reaching Isla de Muerta didn't take that long since the island where Jack and the others were marooned at was close to it. They stopped a few ways from it and dropped a couple of small rowboats onto the waters. After giving a few words to one of the guards who was going to stay on the ship, Commodore Norrington stepped into a boat together with Jack and led the rest of his men deeper into the cave. The men stopped rowing halfway to the open area and made the whole company halt. Silence reverberated around the cave; not a sound could be heard from further in. Darkness engulfed them as well with small lanterns at the head of each boat their only source of light. Norrington examined the whole place, considering all of his options, then looked over his shoulder at the pirate behind him.

"I don't care for the situation. Any attempt to storm the caves could turn to an ambush." He muttered.

"Not if you're the one doing the ambushing." Jack replied with a grin. "I go in, I convince Barbossa to send his men out with their little boats. You and your mates return to the Dauntless and blast the bejesus outta them with your little cannons, eh?" He placed an arm around Norrington in a friendly manner. "What do you have to lose?" Norrington wrinkled his nose in disgust and peeled off Jack's arm from his shoulder with the looking glass he had with him.

"Nothing I'd lament being rid of."

"Now, to be quite honest with you, there's still a slight risk for those aboard the Dauntless which includes the future Mrs. Commodore." Jack pointed out, turning his gaze to the ship a few meters away from where they were.

Marine was staring through the window, watching the lanterns on the boats grow smaller and smaller as it rowed away from the ship. She noticed that it had stopped a few ways beyond them and stayed there. She guessed Jack was about to venture into the cave and confront Barbossa. She moved away from the window and slumped down on the gloomy, cold dungeon floor with a large and angry frown on her face. She was pissed off at the fact that it was the third time she got locked up in the dungeons ever since she met Jack Sparrow. Before all these happened, while she dreamt of herself as Marine, nothing that was in the way could stop her from escaping dangerous threats and situations. Somehow she always found a way to get out of whatever trouble she was about to get into. She knew it wasn't Jack's fault that this was happening to her, but she just wanted to vent out all her anger and frustration on someone.

She was brought out of her thoughts when she heard the sound of conversations from the entrance to the lower deck. She leaned against the bars as much as she could and strained her ears to pick up what it was the two people were talking about. She had no chance of listening to it as she heard the sound of someone crashing to the floor with a soft thump. She stepped back and watched as the second person began to go down the stairs. Marine widened her eyes and gaped her mouth open at the person who stood at the end of the stairs.

"What are you doing here? How did you get here?"

''I need you to come with me to save Will." Elizabeth said as she walked up to the cell and opened it with the key she took from the guard. Marine was still standing there in shock, and didn't regain her senses back until Elizabeth grabbed her wrist and began dragging her up the deck. Marine shook her head and pulled Elizabeth back before she could go up the stairs.

"Are you _crazy_?! You can't go there!" Marine cried. Elizabeth frowned at her.

"I know this is improper for me but you're a woman too! It would be just as dangerous to you as it would be to me." She replied hotly. "Yes I know that you're a pirate and you can defend yourself well but I know a thing or two about sword-handling and I think I can manage a fight all on my own. If you don't want to help me then I guess I'll just have to put you back into that cell while I go over there and rescue Will on my own." Marine blinked at Elizabeth before chuckling at her. Elizabeth was taken aback by Marine's reaction and looked at her in a confused manner.

"Why on earth are you laughing?"

"Because you're a silly little lass." Marine replied with a grin on her face. "I wasn't trying to stop you from going over there and saving your precious William. By all means, I'll even help you out with that. Now the reason I told you to stop because if you had gone further, you would have been seen by those guards over there." She explained, pointing at some corner of the deck where two guards were looking around. "Unless you want to be caught and be isolated in one of these cabins again, I suggest you leave the planning to me and just do what I tell you to do. Savvy?" She asked her. Elizabeth murmured an apology and nodded to her question. Marine smiled and turned her gaze to the guards.

"Okay then. Here's the plan..."

* * *

Below the deck of the Black Pearl, two cursed pirates sat down in front of a large table filled with all sorts of delicious meals. They were waiting for the moment that the curse would be removed from them so they could taste every flavor from the dishes like normal human beings. They were so focused on preparing the meal that they didn't notice two young women climbing up the sides of the ship. Marine got onto the deck stealthily and crossed over to the stairs that would lead her to the cannons, where she knew the two pirates were. Elizabeth had stopped to catch her breath when she got onto the ship and was met by Jack, the undead monkey. It screamed angrily at her, trying to scare her off. Instead of doing that, Elizabeth narrowed her eyes at the monkey and without another thought threw it overboard. 

The two pirates were settling down on the feast before them, rubbing their hands together and drooling hungrily at everything. One of the pirates looked up from the dishes at his fellow pirate.

"Right. What would you pick to eat first?" He asked. "I think we should decide now. Just so we're ready when the time comes." Before the other could reply the undead monkey fell onto the cannon, bringing up the attention of the two pirates. They saw the monkey sit on the cannon dizzily then fall into the waters below. They stood up from their chairs and looked out of the window, then up at the deck.

"What was that?" One of them asked.

"Oh I can answer that question for you easily if you really want to know." A voice spoke behind them. The two pirates turned around from the window and, before they realized what was happening, were both met with a punch on the face. They were immediately knocked-out and fell to the ground at the same time. Marine stood over them with a smug expression on her face.

"Pathetic wimps." She muttered. Then she grabbed hold of one of them and began going up on deck, where she saw Elizabeth leading Jack's new crew out of the cells. They widened their eyes in surprise when they saw Marine; as surprised as they were when they had seen Elizabeth.

"Marine! It's really you!" One of them cried. Marine grinned at them then motioned to the unconscious pirate she held.

"There's one more like him down below. Bring him up here and throw him overboard." She told them. They did as she ordered and cheered when each one was splashing about in the water. Elizabeth walked over to a tied-up rowboat and grabbed the rope that held it up. She tossed the other end of the rope on the ground, expecting the crew to get it.

"All of you with me. Will is in that cave and we must save him. Ready? And heave!" She pulled as hard as she could but stopped when she realized no one was helping her. She turned around and saw that the pirates were looking at each other nervously. "Please, I need your help! Come on!" She begged.

"Any port in the storm." The parrot cried. Gibbs looked at the parrot and at the man it was perched on before looking at Elizabeth.

"Cotton's right, we've got the Pearl." Elizabeth looked at all of them incredulously.

"And what about Jack, you're just going to leave him?"

"Jack owes us a ship." One of them said.

"And there's the code to consider." Gibbs added, looking down at the floor and wringing his hands nervously. Elizabeth widened her eyes and stared at them all.

"The code?" She spluttered. "You're pirates. Hang the code, and hang the rules! They're more like guidelines anyway." At that moment Marine walked up to Elizabeth and held her shoulder calmly. The young woman stared at her, hope diminishing in her eyes.

"Not you too?" Marine gave her a small smile, shaking her head, then looked at the others.

"You're not going to force them out of this Liz. You can't expect everyone to be so noble and self-less. Pirates don't normally risk their lives for anyone after all; not even their captain or their closest friends. Let them go and get on the rowboat."

"What about you?" She asked Marine, clearly upset with what was happening. "What are you going to do?" Marine hesitated to answer, looking at Gibbs and the others. She held up a finger to Liz, asking for a minute alone, then walked towards the crew.

"What _are_ ye going to do lass?" Gibbs asked her. "Everyone here's ready to follow you if ye lead the Black Pearl out of this nightmare. No one would question ye becoming captain of the ship." Marine smiled at Gibbs and looked about her at the faces nodding in agreement.

"Thank you. That's really quite touching to know. I accept being captain then." Everyone smiled at each other while Elizabeth frowned sadly. "As my first order of business, I order you to get out of here and head on to Port Royal. Then I want you all to wait for us and save Jack Sparrow when he is about to be hanged. Since ye gave me the title of captain, I'll be expectin' all of you to be there as you were commanded." That earned her a lot of open-mouthed stares.

"Why?" Anamaria asked her curiously. "Why do you bother going back there and telling us to save Jack Sparrow in Port Royal when you can go with us and escape all this trouble? How are you even sure that Jack will be held at Port Royal after all this? He could be killed right here and now for all we know." Marine looked at her, then at Elizabeth who was looking at Marine in pleasant surprise.

"Why Anamaria? Because I have a feeling that Jack will be alive. I'm sure that he will get out of this mess and go on living his life as it should be. Now I'm sure you're going to ask me why I would readily give up my title as captain for Jack Sparrow once we do save him. It's because he deserves it more than anyone else in this ship. He got that ship and captained it for only two years. On that second year his first crew preformed mutiny against him and marooned him on a small island. After he escaped he went about the world for 10 years trying to find Barbossa to get back his Pearl and he suffered every single day after that, thinking that he shouldn't have trusted trusted his first mate so easily; that he shouldn't have readily given his map to him. I think that's more than enough reason for him to deserve what he's dreamed of for years. Don't you?" None of the crew spoke, and went about their businesses while Gibbs walked up to Marine.

"Would that be all captain?" He asked. Marine looked up at him in surprise then smiled gratefully.

"Yes. Thank you Gibbs." She gave him one quick hug before walking back to Elizabeth and ushering her down to where they had left their rowboat. Elizabeth didn't say a word while they did all these things and it was only when they were halfway to where Barbossa and the others were that the young woman looked at Marine.

"Marine...can I ask you a question?"

"Sure. What's wrong?" Elizabeth looked down at her hands hesitantly before gathering up much of her courage and opening her mouth.

"I know this isn't really any of my business, and that it would be very rude to inquire, but I wonder...After all this is done, what will happen to you? Are you going to stay here and go on with your life as Marine, or are you going to go back to your own world? Will I ever see you again?" Marine widened her eyes, taken aback by the question, and couldn't answer Elizabeth immediately. She turned her gaze out to the vast, empty place; stared into the dark but clear waters with the gold glittering temptingly in deep thought. She took a slow, deep breath. Then answered so softly that Elizabeth almost didn't hear her speak.

"I honestly don't know. Maybe I'll be sent back to my own world, and maybe I won't be."

"Do you want to go back?"

"...I...I..." Marine sighed a weary sigh and stopped rowing. There was still time for at least a few minutes of conversation. She wasn't worried that they wouldn't make it in time. Of course they would. "If there's one thing I learned from everything that's happened in my life, it's this; everything happens for a reason. Maybe me being orphaned had its purposes. Maybe my going here into this world was fated or destined. I can't really explain the things that are happening to me but one way or another, I find myself gaining something from it. For example, if I wasn't orphaned, I wouldn't have met the loving parents I have now. I wouldn't know one of the best friends I could ever have. And...I might not even be here right now if it wasn't for that."

"To answer your question, pushing aside all logic and considering all of my options, I would say no. I don't want to go back to my own world. I want to stay here, as the infamous Sharpshooter Marine, having the time of my life going through adventures from left to right; being a free pirate. I can't understand why, but somehow I feel at home here. Like this was where I was meant to be in." She said. Another, small thought escaped the depths of her mind and rushed to reveal itself to her fully. She didn't speak the thought aloud and began rowing the boat once more. Sure, she loved being a pirate and stealing treasures from those who don't deserve it, but inside her own self she knew the real truth. She knew that it wasn't the real reason she wanted to stay in that world. Her real reason for putting up with being killed, being captured and detained in numerous cells, tolerating herself with perverted, arrogant, insane bastards, was inside the deeper caves, fighting for his life.


	7. Chapter 7

**AN: **Hey look I just got a review from this guy who told me how boring my story was because it was unoriginal. I know this alright? I intentionally made it that way. It's a part of the story I planned. I absolutely do not plan on making my whole story unoriginal because if it was then I myself would kick my own butt for it. So if any of you have any problems with that then don't bother reading this fic. I'm not forcing you guys to anyway!

To those who are kind enough to read and review, this will be the last chapter of this part of the story. There's still an epilogue though so don't start giving up on me. There will also be a sequel of course! One that is purely original I promise you guys. Now, on with the show!

* * *

**Chapter 7**

The small wooden rowboat bumped hard onto the solid ground and almost tossed both Marine and Elizabeth over into the deep, dark waters. Marine quickly recovered her balance and mumbled a soft curse as she stepped out of the boat and onto the land. She helped Elizabeth out afterwards, seeing that the other woman was having a hard time in her dress and wasn't as used to rough terrain as she was. They could hear the sound of swordfighting deeper in the cave and followed the sound to the large opening Marine knew and remembered in the times she watched the movie. She couldn't tell what was happening inside though and only hoped that she didn't miss out everything that was important. When they looked about they saw only a small number of Barbossa's men fighting. Jack was climbing up some of the rocks, his sword clashing against Barbossa's while said pirate was following Jack's every move. Marine turned her gaze away from them to Elizabeth who was looking at something else worriedly. Marine followed her glance and saw Will fighting pirates all around him.

"Go and help him. I'll see what I can do to help Sparrow with Barbossa." She told the other woman. Elizabeth nodded to her and began running towards Will who was beginning to have a few problems with the pirates before him. Marine turned around just in time as she saw the two pirates standing on a flat surface above her.

"You can't beat me, Jack." Barbossa taunted as he stopped to take a quick rest. Jack used this opportunity to thrust his sword into Barbossa. The cursed pirate stared down at the sword sticking out of him and sighed wearily. He grabbed the hilt, took it out of himself, and returned the favor by stabbing Jack on his chest. Marine winced slightly but knew what was going to happen so instead of gasping in fear and crying out for Jack Sparrow worriedly, she made a dagger appear out of her hand from nowhere and turned around to help Will and Elizabeth in their fight.

Jack staggered back, his eyes wide with shock, and stepped onto a sliver of moonlight that casted down on them from the holes on the ceiling of the cave. Barbossa was grinning, thinking that he had finally won, when he saw his enemy standing under the moonlight in the form of a skeleton. Jack looked down at his bony self and grinned.

"That's interesting." Before Barbossa could open his mouth to react, Jack revealed a gold medallion in his fingers, playing with it for a short while before hiding it again. "I couldn't resist, mate." He said, the grin never going away. Barbossa glared and charged at Jack again, pushing him back and making the two move all around the place. Jack ran back to gain some recovery time and accidentally hit the edge of a table. He mumbled a quick sorry before turning back his attention on the cursed pirate.

"So what now, Jack Sparrow? Will it be two immortals locked in an epic battle until Judgment Day and trumpets sound? Hmm?" Barbossa asked as his sword clashed against the one Jack held. Jack stopped for a while and gave a shrug.

"Or you could surrender." This didn't really go well with Barbossa, growling first then laughing as he chased Jack further around the room. Marine at the time had caught up to Elizabeth and Will, as the latter fell down to the ground. A pirate stood before him with a snarl on his face and a sword raised above his head.

"I'm gonna teach you the meaning of pain." He sneered. Before Marine could go and save Will, she caught sight of Elizabeth nearing the blacksmith with a determined, concentrated frown on her face.

"Do you like pain?" Before the pirate could react to what was happening, a very large and heavy staff swung around and knocked him off his feet. Elizabeth threw down the heavy staff and glared at the pirate with contempt in her eyes. "Try wearing a corset." Marine couldn't help but laugh and gave Elizabeth a thumbs up in approval of what she did. Elizabeth smiled back at Marine then helped Will stand up from the ground. After she did, she noticed Jack in a skeletal form under the moonlight, fighting Barbossa. She stared at Will and Marine in confusion. "Whose side is Jack on?" She asked.

"At the moment?" Will asked rhetorically. No one had the opportunity to answer or reply as more pirates surrounded the three people. Will grabbed the staff that Elizabeth used and began to fight one of them. Another fought Elizabeth herself while the remaining one charged at Marine. The female pirate made one more dagger appear in her hands for Elizabeth to use. She tossed the dagger she held on her right at the woman while she blocked the sword of the pirate in front of her with the one on her left. They all fought hard yet not that long, as Will struck the staff into the pirate he was fighting with. Elizabeth, upon seeing the staff sticking out, dodged her attacker's charge and pushed him towards it. Marine glanced to her side and saw that the two pirates were struggling with the thing stabbed through them.

"Will!" She cried, catching the blacksmith's attention. Will looked at her and smiled knowingly, turning the staff around so that one of its ends was pointed behind the pirate and in front of Marine. The pirate turned around in curiosity, an action that was pretty idiotic for him, and gave Marine the opportunity to kick him from behind and send him falling forward at the staff. The three men found themselves stuck in a very strange and unescapable predicament. One of the pirates was going to one direction, the other going to another, while the one in the middle looked at the other two irritatingly.

With a devious smile, Elizabeth grabbed a small bomb from one of the pirates and scraped two rocks together to light up the wick. She handed it over to Will who then shoved it into the insides of the pirate in the middle while he was in his skeletal form. Marine cracked her fingers and with casual ease, pushed the three of them out of the moonlight. Flesh covered the pirates' bodies and kept them from getting the bomb inside. One of them stared at the unseen bomb inside him in defeat and looked up at the three in dismay.

"No fair."

Will grabbed Elizabeth and shielded her with his own body as the pirates exploded into little bits of pieces with a loud roar. Marine held up a hand in front of her face and braced herself as she, together with Will and Elizabeth, felt the force of the bomb brush past them. When all three looked again, the spot where they had seen the pirates was empty and clean of anything. Only a charred, cracked ground gave them the sign that there were people standing there only seconds ago. Marine whistled, impressed with the scene before her.

"That...was absolutely, positively, totally awesome!" She cried with a grin. Will and Elizabeth turned their heads towards Marine at the same time, a look of incredulity and slight disgust both etched onto their faces. Marine felt their eyes on her and looked at them innocently.

"What? They're just dead people."

The sound of sword fighting becoming louder snapped the heads of the three. They all turned to watch as Jack and Barbossa crossed blades again and again, with no stopping. While Marine stared at them, something at the back of her mind kept on nagging at her. She widened her eyes, realization hitting her, as the two pirates went on for a painstakingly long time.

"Why is nothing happening?! Something's supposed to happen right about now." She muttered worriedly. Both Will and Elizabeth heard her speak and turned to her in a confused manner.

"What's wrong?" Will asked.

"Marine?" The female pirate felt a warm hand on her shoulder and looked back to find Elizabeth smiling softly at her. Marine forced a smile on her face then turned her attentions back to the fight. Jack should be tossing the coin to Will. That was supposed to be the next scene in the movie. So why wasn't he cutting his own hand and throwing the bloody coin at Will? Just like the question had come to her, the answer did as well. She looked slightly crestfallen as they continued to fight. Barbossa was giving Jack no chance to cut his palm and toss the coin to Will. If he did, Barbossa would have had him trapped and immobile within seconds. Not a good situation to be in once the curse was gone. Marine gritted her teeth in irritation and charged at them, ignoring Elizabeth as she shouted her name; told her to stop and come back.

She caught up a bit with the two as they moved about, with Barbossa's back in front of her. She gripped the dagger in her hand tightly, turning her knuckles white with rage. She gritted her teeth and with a loud battle cry, charged at Barbossa, pulling back the dagger before striking it at Barbossa in full force. Barbossa stopped his attack on Jack and turned his whole body around with shock as Marine's dagger stabbed into his chest. He stepped back a few steps and blinked at her in silence.

"You will pay for killing my father. Do you hear me Barbossa? You will pay!" She spat angrily at him, sinking the dagger deeper into him at the last three words she uttered. Barbossa recovered quickly, and gave a maniacal laugh as he grabbed the wrist holding onto the dagger's hilt. Marine widened her eyes, struggling with the strong, unfaltering grip. Barbossa expertly twisted Marine's body around so that he had her arm in a tight arm lock behind her back.

"Well well well, I never really quite expected it, but if Jack Sparrow escaped that bloody island, you were bound to follow him soon after. I must admit that it was a mistake to simply throw you overboard while you were tied up. It's just like Jack Sparrow to save a sorry excuse for a lass like you. Always tryin' to be the big, bad pirate hero everyone would admire and fear at the same time. I should have killed ye when I had the chance." He said. Marine grimaced and gave a short gasp in pain as Barbossa pushed her arm behind her back even more.

"You have no one but yourself to blame for your stupid decisions. I'd have thought you'd redeem yourself of the mistake the first time this happened." She muttered. The main thing bothering her at that moment was the slowly growing pain on the bruises on her arms. They were fine when they were left alone, but if the muscles were stretched just like they were doing then, pain was bound to come.

"I shan't be making the same mistake then." Barbossa kicked Marine's legs all of a sudden, forcing her to fall down to the ground on her knees. With his free hand, Barbossa took out his gun from the holster and aimed it at the side of her head. Marine felt the cold barrel on her skin and heard the sound of the pistol being cocked. Strangely she didn't feel afraid of what was going to happen to her. "Well then lass, this is goodbye." He whispered. Marine closed her eyes and braced herself for what was to come. The sound of coins clinking together reached her ears for some reason and a smile came upon her face knowingly before a single gunshot was fired, its sounds echoing throughout the cave.

* * *

Marine coughed and spat out some of the dirt that had gotten to her mouth. It was only then when she realized that she was lying facedown on the mucky ground. She noticed that no one was holding her and used both hands to push herself up. She turned her head around-looked over her shoulder-and stared at Barbossa's back. He was still holding onto the pistol in his hand, but it was aimed at the floor. Jack had his own pistol aimed at Barbossa, wisps of smoke curling up into the air 

"Ten years you carry that pistol, and now you waste your shot." Barbossa said in a humorous tone.

"He didn't waste it." Will spoke up from behind them. The three pirates turned to look at Will as he stretched out his hand under the chest, his palms closed. Barbossa looked at Will in confusion, then slowly paled in fear as he realized what was in the blacksmith's hand. A bit of blood was dripping down onto the chest as Will opened his palm, letting two aztec coins fall into the large chest with a loud clinking sound. To Marine, it sounded like the clinking of coins echoed throughout the cave. Barbossa unconsciously dropped his sword to the ground and looked down at himself hesitantly as he watched blood seep out from where the dagger's hilt stuck out and from the bullet he received from Jack. He looked back up at both Jack and Marine, with a faraway glaze clouded over his eyes.

"I feel...cold." He whispered softly before falling backwards onto the ground. Marine, Jack and Will watched him fall with emotionless gazes, none of them sympathetic to the pirate. He fell slowly to Marine's irritation; fell like the way people did in a slow-motion movie. She never thought that was possible in real life, but it was exactly how she felt that moment. Finally, a green apple tucked into Barbossa's sleeve fell away from him as his body hit the uneven, rocky, floor. Silence flooded the whole room after that. It was over. Finally, she had her revenge on the man who killed her father. But then...why didn't she feel satisfied? All she felt was empty and cold. She jumped in surprise when a hand held her shoulder.

"No one's supposed to feel good after killing someone...not even for the right reasons." Jack said behind her. Marine hadn't realized that she had spoken her thoughts aloud for everyone in the cave to hear and slightly blushed in embarrassment. Marine turned around and stiffened as a hand went up to wipe away a tear on her face that she never noticed. She stared up at Jack's own eyes; his dark brown eyes emitting an aura of calm and gentleness. It was through those orbs that she found the walls around her crumbling down into pieces. She gritted her teeth and struggled with herself as her unwanted tears slowly fell down to her face.

"It's not fair...he's dead. He doesn't have to go through life anymore while I get all the suffering he deserves. My father won't come back to life just because I killed Barbossa. He's dead when he should be suffering along with me!" She screamed angrily. Jack took a step back and held up his hands in defense, fearful of Marine's uncontrolled anger. "He gets to live his life the way he wanted and die quickly when I wanted to strangle him and slowly cut him to pieces to make him suffer for everything he did to me. Why do I have to pay the price for what he did to my father?! I hate him for killing my father. I hate my father for letting himself get killed like that. I didn't even get to meet him in person for christ's sake! It's not fair!" She sank down onto her knees and bit back her sobs. She cried silently yet it felt like the whole cave trembled and weeped alongside her, feeling her pains and sharing it with her. Elizabeth frowned in concern and tried to walk towards Marine but Will stopped her. He shook his head at her and turned his gaze to the two pirates ahead of him.

"Let them work this out themselves. I'm sure she'll be fine." He said. Elizabeth looked back at Marine one more time before heaving a sigh of defeat and nodded to Will.

"I guess so..." She answered back softly with a small smile on her face. As they walked away, Jack crouched down beside Marine's trembling form and wrapped his arms around her in a comforting embrace. He placed her head on his shoulder, blocking her view of Barbossa's corpse. Marine instinctively wrapped her arms around his neck and buried herself closer to his body. She felt his warmth seep into her, not only physically but emotionally as well. She blinked slowly, then blushed in embarrassment as she realized what she was doing and tried to gently push Jack away from herself. To her surprise Jack tightened his hold on her.

"You don't need to hold it in." He murmured. "Let your emotions go. You'll feel better afterwards." Marine immediately wiped the tears away from her eyes and shook her head at him. She wasn't sobbing or crying anymore, just sniffing.

"No really, it's alright. I don't want to ruin your shirt by crying on it and besides, I can't act all selfish and sensitive. There are others who are greatly affected by what had happened as well." She replied, eyeing Jack knowingly. Jack gave a frustrated sigh as he looked at Marine.

"Look love, I know that you're not the only one affected. I of all people should know that. But you're wrong if you think things will be better by not showing your emotions. And besides..." He added, giving her body a nervous squeeze. "I could use the hug too." Marine turned even redder than she already was as she looked at anything but Jack Sparrow. She cursed him for making her feel these things and look like a total buffoon in front of Will and Elizabeth. As much as the female pirate tried to hide it, she knew by the sound of his amused chuckle that he had seen her face.

"You're not being honest with everyone." He suddenly said. Marine blinked at him in confusion.

"Wha?"

"Don't deny it love. I can see the pain in your eyes even if you smile at everyone and say there's nothing wrong with you. You don't show your pains and your sadness to anyone and try to make yourself look strong and tough by smiling and waltzing about proudly. You don't want anyone to see your weaknesses; afraid of being ridiculed or worse, used to others' advantages." He said. Marine widened her eyes in surprise and was about to open her mouth when she paused, carefully considering. Closing her mouth, she raised a suspicious eyebrow at Jack.

"And how would you know that Mr. Smarty-know-it-all-pants?"

"Excuse me?" Jack said, blinking at her. Marine rolled her eyes and gave an exhausted sigh.

"Forget it. Just answer the question Jack." She froze as the words came out of her mouth. It was the first time she addressed the rogue captain by his first name. It had always been "Sparrow" or "Captain"-if she ever felt like it-but never did she call him by his first name. Jack had taken note of that too since he had a look of small surprise on his face. But that expression was quickly changed as he answered Marine with a small, grin on his face.

"Because I do exactly the same thing." He answered. Marine's eyes bulged even wider if that was possible. At first she thought she had only imagined Jack speaking those words but she saw the look on his face and knew that what had happened had been real.

"Why are you telling me these things?" She asked him, tilting her head with the suspicious glance still on her face. "This isn't a weird pirate's code wherein you have to share your feelings and secrets to each other after experiencing some kind of near-death situation is it?" Jack raised his eyebrows at her in a strange manner.

"Where the bloody hell would you get a ridiculous idea like that?" He asked. Marine's lips curled into a smile as she watched Jack recover himself and go back to the real topic. He still stared at her with the same expression on his face though, an expression Marine was happy to get used to seeing on Jack's usually arrogant, smug face. "I was just trying to make you feel better. If you don't appreciate my trying then I might as well forget about it and leave you alone." He said in irritation and stood up; about to walk away when Marine grabbed his sleeve and laughed softly.

"Calm down Sparrow I was just kidding." Her mirth was returned with Jack's own unique grin. "Thank you. For everything." She said, smiling at him sincerely. Jack looked at her for a while, before grinning again and bringing her up on her feet.

"You can continue your praises and adoration as I go about the island and take all the available, not-cursed treasure I can get my hands on." He said. Marine shook her head in disbelief but followed Jack all the same. They stepped onto some of the rocks and began crossing through the battlefield to the shiny golden coins and statues layered about the ground. Jack inspected one statue, that in Marine's eyes resembled a Chinese God called Buddha, and tossed it aside carelessly. He was more attentive to the jewels, rings and gems that lay about the pile. He even took a crown from the ground and placed it on his head. As soon as Marine saw him she couldn't help but laugh at him. Jack frowned and turned his back on her, trying to dig through the other treasures and ignore her completely. Marine pouted her lips and turned away from the pirate to find Will and Elizabeth facing each other.

"We should start returning to the Dauntless." Elizabeth said. Will nodded, a frown on his face.

"Your fiancé will be wanting to know you're safe." He replied. Elizabeth looked at him in shock, then recovered herself and sadly walked away towards where the boats were. Jack had finished his search and walked past Marine towards Will, tapping him on the shoulder lightly.

"If you were waiting for the opportune moment...that was it." Before he could give Will a chance to answer, he moved on. "Now, if you'll be so kind, I'd be much obliged if you'd drop me and the lass off my ship." Marine was walking alongside Jack and stopped short when Jack said his last line. She turned her gaze to Elizabeth, who was far from hearing range and was getting onto one of the boats, and bit her nails nervously. The good mood she found herself in soon dissipated as she watched Jack hop into the rowboat. She jogged after him and sat down on the boat in silence. Once Will followed, he grabbed the oars and began rowing out of the cave. Marine kept looking out onto the waters, both with a dreadful and hopeful expression on her face. She knew it wasn't likely that the Black Pearl would be there, but much of the small events from the movie itself had changed that she thought it would be possible if they changed altogether.

"Why do you look so glum?" Jack asked her. "I'm finally getting me Black Pearl back and we have enough treasures on this boat to last us a lifetime. You should be celebrating this joyous occasion with me by being my rum drinking mate!" That made Elizabeth flinch. Will looked from her to Marine, still lost to what was happening. Marine looked at Elizabeth pleadingly but only received a slight shrug and a pointing look. She turned to Jack and debated within herself on what she was going to say. She had no idea how to break the news to the poor captain.

"Er...well...about your ship...you see...it's..." She didn't get a chance to continue as they passed the edge of the entrance to Isla de Muerta. Jack was looking around, trying to find the ship he had come to love so much. Soon after searching for quite a long while his face fell. There was no sign of anything out in the open water. He turned his gaze to Marine who didn't take her eyes off the floor of the boat then moved on to Elizabeth who was frowning sympathetically at him.

"Where's my ship? Where's the Black Pearl?" He asked softly even though he had a feeling he already knew the answer to it. Will looked at the two women in silence, his face filled with concern and worry. Marine was still looking down so it was Elizabeth who spoke.

"I'm sorry, Jack." The rogue pirate gave a soft sigh and closed his eyes for a while. Elizabeth didn't say the words, but his fears had been confirmed by the expression on the woman's face. When he opened his eyes and looked at them he saw three sad and sympathetic faces staring back at him. He shrugged casually and looked to the side away from them, pretending not to be greatly affected by it.

"They done what's right by them. Can't expect more than that." He murmured. Marine held his hand comfortingly and smiled in reassurance.

"Not to worry Sparrow." She told him. "I'm sure everything's going to go exactly as it should." Jack tilted his head to the side in confusion, wondering about Marine's words. Elizabeth quickly caught on to the deeper meaning behind them and smiled slightly. Will was just as confused as Jack as he went on rowing and shook his head slightly before focusing his attentions on what he was doing.

* * *

Marine stared up at the ceiling in boredom as she played with a small rock in her hands. She threw it up into the air and caught it in her hands before it fell to the ground. She was inside the cell with Jack again, only this time they were at the very end of the room. The dungeon was dark, the moonlight outside the barred windows the only source of light in the room. Jack Sparrow was going to be hanged first thing tomorrow morning. Marine was to follow him the day after that. A smirk formed on Marine's lips as she remembered what had happened as she and the others climbed up the side of the hull onto the deck of the Dauntless. Commodore Norrington was plainly surprised at seeing the pirates willingly step onto his ship. He seemed even more surprised at the end of their trip when he pointed out that neither of them bothered to try any means of escape. 

_"To what end would we get to if we did try Commodore?" Marine had asked him with a grin on her face. "Our only means of escape on this ship are the rowboats and those aren't fast enough to escape your clutches. Even if we did get onto them we wouldn't even be sure if we would survive on the next island with nothing but our clothes. Any other method would have been futile." Elizabeth walked up to the Commodore then._

_"Can't you do something? They don't deserve to be hanged after everything they've done for us!" She cried. Norrington frowned._

_"I apologize Miss Swann, but there is nothing I can do. Rules are rules. These pirates have committed crimes liable to death no matter how much they have redeemed themselves by helping us destroy one of the biggest threats in the sea."_

_"Relax Liz. No need to fret over us." Marine told her casually, waving a hand carelessly at her. "We can handle anything they throw at us. Right Sparrow?" She turned her gaze to the pirate beside her and frowned when she saw him glare at her in disapproval._

_"What?"_

_"You shouldn't speak of things on behalf of other people love." Jack began, waving his arms about unnecessarily. "It's not only rude but wrong." Marine narrowed her eyes at him in return and muttered something that sounded familiar to the word 'chicken'._

Ever since then she has been playing with the rock. Jack was off to another side, sleeping with his hat covering the front of his face. Will and Elizabeth had visited them and stayed for quite some time, simply talking with them and trying to cheer them up. Once they left, the two pirates went back to what they were doing before their friends came; which was absolutely nothing. Marine's thoughts began to wander far as she pondered on what was going to happen to her. The end of the movie was near, she knew. Jack was going to be saved by his crew and set sail on his beloved Black Pearl to live happily ever after until the next adventure plagues him. Was she going to simply disappear after that? Or was she going to live on as Marine? If so, then was she going to die by being hanged or would Jack have the heart and the time to save her? Marine frowned at that. And she had thought her problems were over after killing Barbossa.

"So love..." Jack began, making Marine jump slightly in surprise. His voice after the silence was louder than it should have been normally. "What's going to happen to ye?" He asked as if he had read Marine's mind. She blinked at him and didn't reply immediately. Jack assumed that Marine didn't understand his question and so explained further. "I mean, do you just disappear out of existence or does a light from the heavens suddenly envelop you and bring you up to the sky where angels come to sing praises and send you back to your own little haven?" Marine gave him a sardonic smile at that.

"No, actually the ground will open up underneath me and send me falling into the fiery pits of hell." Jack grimaced at her answer.

"That's not nice. It would be a much better idea if you stay here, in this '_world_'," Jack made exaggerated flailing hand gestures as he said the last word. "Or whatever you want to call this place." Marine sighed at him then shrugged.

"Truth be told I don't know what's going to happen to me. Maybe I would disappear, and maybe I won't. Either way it's not looking good in my future." Jack frowned.

"Why's that?"

"Well..." Marine began, biting her lip hesitantly. "I don't know if I would get to go back to my own world. And if I did there's a chance that time either moved forward or backward while I was away. Would my family and friends still be there if I arrive? Would they even remember me? On the other hand, if I stay here I'll be hanged to death two days from now. That's not really a nice thing to look forward to."

"Is that it?" Jack asked, earning himself a narrow-eyed stare from Marine. "You're wasting your time worrying about something that shouldn't be worried over. Relax! You don't know what will happen to you if you go to your own world and nothing about that will change whether you think about it or not. If you stay here, then that's fine too. You can come with me and we'll sail off together just like we've agreed on earlier." He said.

"But I didn't help you get your Black Pearl back." She pointed out to him. "It's still out there somewhere being run by Gibbs and the others. And if you can actually remember it, we're both stuck here in this cell, about to be hanged soon. Aren't you worried about what's going to happen to you tomorrow?" She asked him. Jack didn't answer Marine immediately as he stared out of the only window in the cell. Just when she was about to repeat the question, he turned his head towards her.

"No, not really." This was followed by his signature cocky grin. "I'm Captain Jack Sparrow love, and that means I don't die that easily. And aside from that, the fact that you're not as worried about me as you should be means I'm not going to die here." Marine narrowed her face then quickly recovered by raising an eyebrow at him in amusement.

"And what makes you think I'm not worried about you because you're not going to die? Should I be worried about you Sparrow?" She told him teasingly. Jack frowned at her and huffed indignantly.

"Of course you should! I know despite your outer hatred and irritation for me you truly, greatly care about me deep inside." Marine pursed her lips and placed a finger on her chin in thought.

"Let me think on that..." Marine looked at Jack and shook her head with a large grin on her face. "Nope. I don't." The expression on Jack never changed and made Marine laugh at him openly. Jack lost his irritation at her after a short while and chuckled as well. They fell in silence after, and spent it that way for a few minutes before Marine gave a yawn and began to lie down on the dusty ground.

"As much as I would like to keep this going on, I need to get some shut-eye. You're right after all Sparrow. There's no point worrying about the future when I know it'll come anyway. Thanks for making me feel better."

"I'm glad one of us in this blasted cell is." He muttered in sarcasm. Marine couldn't help but smile before she closed her eyes and dozed off. Jack leaned his back against the cold walls and watched Marine's breathing slow down, indicating that she was fast asleep. He stared at her and at the rest of the things around him, letting his mind wander about freely until his eyelids closed down on him and sent him to a dreamless but uncomfortable sleep.

Jack woke up from his slumber as soon as his ears picked up the sounds of footsteps coming down the stairs. He opened one eye then closed it again when he saw Norrington with a couple more guards standing behind the bars. Let them go inside and make him get up. He was going to prolong his hanging as much as he could, whether they like it or not. The Commodore was about to open his mouth when he looked into the cell and widened his eyes. Jack could hear him muttering to one of the guards hurriedly and listened to the quick, rushed footsteps of the man as he ran up the stairs out of the dungeon. He still didn't open his eye, not feeling like waking up just yet. Norrington and the other guard entered the prison cell and made Jack stand up, cuffing his hands with iron claps.

"How unfortunate for you Jack Sparrow." Norrington said in mocking concern as he led Jack out of the cell and waited for his guard to lock the door. "It seems that your female pirate accomplice does not care a whit about you."

"Like I told her last night, I know that deep inside she truly, greatly cares about me." Jack replied casually.

"Oh?" A hint of amusement rang in Norrington's voice. "Then may I ask why on earth did she escape the dungeons and left you to your death? Unless there is some strange custom among you pirates that I have not heard about, I would say she deserted you." As what he said registered in Jack's mind, the pirate widened his eyes and turned his head around to look back at the cell he and Marine were held in the other night. At first he didn't believe the commodore and expected to find Marine sitting in the cell, making a sarcastic comment to Norrington about being blind or something similar to that.

But there was no sign of Marine anywhere.


	8. Epilogue

**AN: **Ahhh I've finally put up the epilogue of the story! Now I won't have to listen to people who can't read right complain about how unoriginal and boring my fic is! There will be a sequel of course, entitled "The Other Aztec Treasure". It'll probably come out next week so watch out for it! Well...do you want to find out what's going to happen? Okay then. Read on. And don't forget to review!

* * *

She sat down on the bed inside the dark, gloomy room. The dark curtains were drawn down, keeping the sunlight from coming into the room. She stared down at her hand, where she held a cordless phone that wasn't hung up yet. The beeping noise of the phone echoed in the silence yet the young woman ignored it. She couldn't think of anything else but the conversation she just had. It kept repeating itself over and over in her mind, like a broken, irritating tape recorder. After a while she fell back onto the bed and looked at the ceiling in depression as her fingers played with her long blond braided hair. She wondered how everything fell apart. She couldn't believe it actually happened. She couldn't understand why all of these things happened within a short span of just a week.

It all started with the disappearance of her best friend. At first she wasn't that worried about it, thinking that her friend had only felt like going out for a bit of fresh air or something like that. It seemed strange, but she knew her friend was a bit strange at times. She was confident that her spiky black haired, blue eyed friend would be back sooner or later, with a perfectly reasonable explanation as to why she suddenly disappeared on everyone like that. She decided to tell her parents that she was going to stay at her friend's home to wait for the young woman's return. But things didn't get better from there.

Three days after there was still no sign of her friend. She had called the police the day before and they said that they would try their best to look for her. Two more days passed and she decided to call up her friend's parents to inform them of what happened. As soon as she finished her story they told her that they were going to come over and stay with her. On the sixth day of her friend's disappearance, she received a call from the police station.

_"This is Officer Ramsey from the station. Am I speaking to Miss Carrie Lockheart?" A rough low voice spoke over the phone. The young blond haired, emerald green eyed woman nodded then realized that the guard couldn't see her and so answered._

_"Yes this is Carrie speaking. Have you found Vanessa?"_

_"I'm sorry ma'am, we haven't found any sign of your friend yet. But..." There was a hesitant pause before the officer spoke again. "Something has come up during our search." An uneasy feeling slowly crept onto Carrie as he spoke and she swallowed a lump that suddenly formed in her throat before she asked._

_"What happened? Is something wrong officer?"_

_"Miss Lockheart...It is with a heavy heart that I inform you that we found the bodies of Mr and Mrs. Silvestre lying in some dark alleyway right beside their home this morning. They have been robbed; dragged into the alley where they were murdered right after our culprit took all of the possessions they had with them." Carrie stopped breathing for a minute, shock overwhelming her. When she relearned how to take in air, she listened to the officer explain to her how they had been killed and that they were going to track down the criminal and punish him for what he did. The information barely registered in her mind. It was as if her whole brain had suddenly shut down._

_"I am terribly sorry about the loss Miss Lockheart. But I am sure that your other friend, Miss Silvestre, is still alive. My men and I are trying our best to find her and the person responsible for her disappearance."_

_"Please do Officer Ramsey. I am counting on you."_

_"We shall do our best. Good morning to you Miss Lockheart."_

The man hung up and that was how she stayed for hours. She didn't know what she was going to do. She hoped with all her might that they find Vanessa as soon as possible; that they find her safe and unharmed. Even so, she couldn't help but worry about the other possibilities that might happen. What if Vanessa died? How could she handle the death of three people whom she knew and cared about? Worse, what if Vanessa was brought back to her? How was she going to tell her best friend that her parents were murdered? She closed her eyes and felt tears fall down to her cheeks.

Vanessa would know what to do if she was there with her. Carrie knew, even if all these was happening to her best friend, that Vanessa wasn't going to sit there and cry like a dependent baby. She had great respect and admiration for her older friend, the person she considered her older sister. She missed Vanessa, who would calmly take in the situation and tell her that everything was going to be alright.

"What am I going to do now?" She mumbled to herself. That was when her emerald green eye caught a glint of reflection from the table beside the bed. She sat up and tilted her head in curiosity. There was no light in the room, so it should have been impossible for her to see that light. She reached for the thing on the table and looked down at her hand to find the gold Aztec coin on her palm. It was shining; glinting off light from an invisible source coming from no certain direction. Carrie gazed at the coin and rubbed it with her fingers.

"I wish Vanessa was here right now..." A breeze suddenly ruffled her hair and just as suddenly disappeared. Carrie looked around her and began to grow nervous. The windows were closed so she shouldn't have felt any sort of wind. She felt her hands vibrate and upon further inspection found that it was the coin on her hand that was beginning to tremble and shake on its own. She immediately dropped it and backed away from the coin in a rush of panic. Her wide, fearful eyes watched as the coin grew brighter and brighter until it pained her eyes to look at it. She raised a hand and looked away from the light that suddenly enveloped around the whole room.

When the light disappeared, there was no sign of anyone inside the room. Only the gold Aztec coin remained, the shine and glint of light gone.


End file.
